Responding to the residents sighting a leopard atop the kharghar hills, the forest department has decided to get the incident verified. A team has been formed to scout the hill areas in search of animal paw prints or scat (feces) .
Since Wednesday numerous videos suggesting the presence of a leopard moving amidst the jungle bushes of the hill have become viral.
One of the videos was shot by former deputy Sarpanch of Kharghar Sanjay Gharat on January 7 morning wherein he has asked residents to be on alert and avoid walking the stretch until the animal is caught.
“ The animal was found to be loitering by the cameras installed at the RBI metro station. Both Kharghar as well as Belapur residents are forewarned from going for morning walks in the area. It must be noted that the animal is not roaming in the interiors of the hills, instead it was sighted right at the entrance of the hill entry gate adjacent to the security post. From the size of the animal it appears to be adult and it can very well be in search of food,” said Gharat.
A team of forest officers, security guards and animal activists walked through the jungle in search of the animal. “almost 10 acres of land area was covered wherein we checked for the paw marks as well as searched for scats or anything that indicates the animals presence but nothing was found. We will resume the search on Friday as well,” said the round officer AS Ghuge.
In the event that the team succeeds in finding the evidence, night vision cameras will be installed to ascertain whether the animal is alone or with family.
As precautionary measures, banners have been placed across the hill asking residents to not walk alone on the stretch. The banners have also sought from residents to keep their pets indoors, not to leave kids alone, in the event of walking alone citizens are asked to play loud music. “ Ensure there is adequate lighting, clear off wild bushes (if any), keep garbage bins closed as open bins attract stray dogs and this inturn can prompt the leopard to attack,” informed Ghuge.
Meanwhile both the sarpanch as well as activists have stated the incident to large scale development work disturbing the natural habitats of wild animals. Residents have been consistently sighting golden jackals in and around kharghar. “The rampant destruction of forest and the large-scale development work going on in the area is drawing wild animals into the public area. In search of food these animals are now entering into residential belts and this is a matter of safety concerns,” said a resident activist Seema Tank.
