Leopard enters Bhayandar society, mangrove corridor link suspected

The presence of a leopard in the densely populated Bhayandar East locality has left residents and officials puzzled about how the animal managed to reach a residential building far from known forest patches on Friday Forest department officials speaking on condition of anonymity said they believe the leopard may have moved through a mangrove patch near Reti Bunder along Bhayandar khadi after dispersing from the Sanjay Gandhi National Park landscapeExperts speakBiologist Nikit Surve of Wildlife Conservation SocietyIndia who has been studying Mumbairsquos leopards for the past decade and has radiocollared five leopards in Sanjay Gandhi National Park said the incident was not unusualThe rescued leopard in the custody of Forest Department officials PicsBy Special ArrangementldquoThis is not the first time a leopard has been reported from this area We have records of leopards using the mangrove belt that connects to Sanjay Gandhi National Park While it is still unclear whether leopards permanently inhabit mangroves our research shows they use these habitats as movement corridorsrdquo Surve saidHe added that similar movement patterns have been documented in other parts of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region ldquoWe have records of leopards using the Gorai landscape as well A few years ago a leopard was also rescued from Bhayandar near the railway tracksrdquo he saidThe rescue team that carried out the leopard rescue in Bhayandar PicSatej ShindeKedar Gore from the Corbett Foundation said ldquoCoordination between agencies is essential to manage the crowd during such rescue operations While the forest department team is busy rescuing the animal the police home guards and other local administration staff must be deployed to control the crowd Large crowds creating a ruckus can be quite stressful for leopards Effective crowd management would help in minimising such incentives in future We must remember that the injuries caused in this case were only because the leopard was trying to escape from the area and not a deliberate attempt to attack peoplerdquoCentral mysteryWhile the exact route taken by the leopard remains unclear forest officials believe it may have travelled through mangrove patches along Bhayandar khadi Satellite imagery shows a nearcontinuous mangrove belt stretching from Bhayandar khadi through Reti Bunder and up to the Ghodbunder Fort area This green corridor further connects to the Sanjay Gandhi National Park landscape offering a possible passage for wildlife movementA screengrab from a viral video showing the leopard inside a residential housing colony in Bhayandar East PicRanjeet JadhavWas big cat spotted earlierIn March 2022 midday had reported sightings of leopard pugmarks in the GoraiManori belt an area where residents and officials had earlier believed leopard presence was unlikelyThe approximate road distance between the SGNP main gate and Gorai where pugmarks were found is about 25 kmIn February 2022 a male leopard was rescued from a dry stormwater drain near Jai Ambe Nagar in Bhayandar That animal was found around seven to eight kilometres away from the nearest forest patchPatterns to be matchedSources from SGNP said forest officials are attempting to match the rosette patterns of the leopard rescued from Bhayandar in 2022 with those of the leopard captured recently in Bhayandar East to determine whether the same animal may be involved in both incidentsOn Friday the leopard was rescued from this point in Bhayandar East BP Road No 5 Parijat BuildingThursday 1130 pmA local dog feeder spots the leopard in the Bhayandar East area and alerts authoritiesFriday 745ndash800 amThe leopard is sighted on Talav Road where Deepu Bhowmick is attacked on his firstfloor balconyFriday Around 8 amRakesh Yadav and Shyaam Sahani are attacked while returning home on BP Road after breakfastFriday Around 815 amThe leopard moves towards Parijat Building and enters the Tak familyrsquos firstfloor flatFriday 930ndash1000 amForest department rescue teams reach the spot and begin search and containment operationsFriday 218 pmThe leopard is successfully tranquilised and brought under control after a sixhour operationLeopard rescues in Mumbai metropolitan regionNov 2022 A leopard that entered a building in Chinchpada Kalyan East was rescued following a ninehour operation after injuringthree peopleDec 2019 A leopard spotted inside SEEPZ Andheri East was trapped within three hours and released into SGNPApril 2019 A twoyearold leopard was rescued from Woodland Crest building in MarolJune 2018 A leopard was rescued from an abandoned factory in MarolMay 2018 A leopard entered a gymnasium at the SRPF camp near Aarey Milk Colony and was rescuedJan 2018 Leopard strayed into Mulund East injured five people and was later rescuedDec 2017 A leopard was rescued from a kindergarten classroom in Andheri EastNov 2016 A leopard was trapped inside an underconstruction building in PowaiDec 2012 Leopard rescued from ONGC Colony in Jogeshwari East near the JogeshwarindashVikhroli Link Road