Leopard caged in Mumbai's Aarey Colony; yet to be ascertained if it killed toddler 2 days back

A male leopard was trapped in a cage in Mumbai's Aarey Colony on Wednesday, but forest officials said it was yet to be ascertained if it was the same feline which killed a toddler in the area two days ago. After the animal walked into the cage, it was taken to a rescue centre at the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) for further examination and observation, a forest official said.

Aarey Colony is a green belt of Mumbai's western suburb of Goregaon and is located close to the sprawling SGNP. A one-and-a-half-year-old girl was attacked and killed by a leopard in a forested area in unit number 15 of Aarey Colony on Monday morning when the child followed her mother who was on way to a temple nearby. Forest officials and wildlife volunteers later put up cages at strategic locations in and around the site to capture the animal.

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The official said it was yet to be ascertained if the captured leopard was behind the attack on Monday, the official said. But since the feline was captured from a strategic location, it could be the same animal, he said. After the incident on Monday, strategic locations were decided for the installation of trap cages based on the ground information and evaluation of facts, the official said.

As many as 30 wildlife volunteers from Aarey, NGOs, forest department officials and personnel from the SGNP were working together to initiate an action plan to prevent human-wildlife conflict in the area, said Resqink Association for Wildlife Welfare (RAWW) founder and president Pawan Sharma, who is also honorary wildlife warden with the state forest department. The measures included patrolling, installing of cages and camera traps, spreading awareness and alerting the residents of Aarey about dos and don'ts to avoid any further conflict with wild animals, he said.

The forest department and wildlife volunteers will continue the mitigation exercise and keep monitoring the movement of other animals in the area throughout the week, a forest official said.