Mumbai: Authorities Begin Search For Leopard Sighted On CCTV At Marol
Mumbai, 10th March 2023: Locals in Marol were shocked to learn that a full-grown leopard recently walked around Aarey Milk Colony in Bhavani Nagar. The forest agency intensified patrols and placed multiple camera traps in the region after CCTV footage of the large cat surfaced.
Santosh Shetty, secretary of Bhavani Nagar Cooperative Housing Federal Society, claims that the leopard was first captured on camera at 1.30 am on 7th March (Tuesday). They could see it moving towards plot one as it was getting close to Bhavani Nagar’s entrance. Later, at roughly 2.06 am, cameras at plot number two captured the leopard. At around 2.10 am, after they last saw the animal at plot number three, they lost sight of it.
Shetty has informed the forest department and requested that they capture the leopard as soon as possible because the area where the leopard is foraging is densely populated by people. The likelihood that a leopard may visit the neighbourhood is very high because of the big number of stray dogs. Other people also claim that the leopard was spotted on the grounds of one of the buildings early on Thursday. There are 22 housing societies in Bhavani Nagar, each with 8,000–9,000 residents and roughly 2,000 units. A representative of the Thane forest department named Surendra Patil paid a visit to the building and the location where the leopard had been spotted on Wednesday.
Moreover, Assistant Conservator of Forest (ACF) Girija Desai has been given the go-ahead to investigate by Deputy Conservator of Forest (DCF) Santosh Saste. Range Forest Officer (RFO) Rakesh Bhoir and his crew are in contact with the community, and Wildlife Welfare Association (WWA) volunteers Satish Lot, Wasim Athaniya, and Raj Jadhav have erected three camera traps.
