Mumbai: Leopard attends day school in the night, caught bunking in toilet

The big cat was spotted by the security guard after confronting it in the toilet next to a classroom

A male leopard was rescued from a school toilet at Bimbisar Nagar in Goregaon East in the wee hours of Wednesday.

Talking to mid-day, a senior Forest Department official said, "A male leopard was rescued by the Forest Department in wee hours of Wednesday from the toilet of a school at Bimbisar Nagar in Goregaon East. The animal was successfully tranquilised and has been taken to the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) Leopard Rescue Center." 

The big cat was spotted by the security guard after confronting it in the toilet next to a classroom. The area from where the leopard was rescued is next to Aarey Milk Colony. 

Range Forest Officer (RFO) and Supritendent of Tiger & Lion Safari at SGNP, Vijay Barabde said, "The Mumbai Range of Thane Forest Department received a call about the leopard in Bimbisar Nagar. They informed us about the same after which our team reached the spot immediately by around 3.30 am and a strategy to rescue the leopard was decided under the guidance of ACF Girija Desai ma'am and RFO Rakesh Bhoir. By 5.30 the leopard was successfully tranquilised inside the washroom of a school by our rescue team member Sandeep Gaikwad along with the Thane Forest Department team. The volunteers from NGO RAWW and WWA helped us in the operation."

Also read: Timely intervention, good care by SGNP team gives a new lease of life to leopard

Talking to mid-day, Honorary Wildlife Warden of Thane, Pawan Sharma said, "Thane Forest Department's Mumbai Range Rescue Team and Rescue Team of SGNP successfully rescued the leopard early in the morning assisted by WWA and RAWW."

After locating the animal and evaluating the situation it was decided to tranquilize the animal as redirecting it to the forests was not possible. 

"Another quick strategic rescue done so well in a city landscape. The animal is shifted to SGNP for detailed medical and will later be released back to wild,” added Sharma.

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