One-and-a-half-year-old girl mauled to death by leopard in Aarey Colony on Diwali

The SGNP has the highest leopard density in the world

In a shocking incident, a little girl lost her life in a leopard attack in the Aarey Milk Colony area of Goregaon in the periphery of the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) in Mumbai in the wee hours of Monday, casting a pall over Diwali festivities.

During the Diwali evening, patrolling was increased and advisories were issued by the Maharashtra Forest Department (MFD) to ensure that kids do not go out alone.

SGNP Director and Chief Conservator of Forest G Mallikarjun confirmed the incident.

The deceased girl was identified as Eitika Akhilesh Lot, aged just one-year-and-four-months. She was a resident of Unit No. 15 of the Aarey Colony.

The mother of the girl went to a temple in the morning when the leopard followed the child and attacked her.

The locals raised an alarm but by that time, the girl had been seriously injured.

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She was taken to SevenHills Hospital but succumbed to her injuries.

Later, a postmortem was carried out and her final rites were completed by the family.

Mallikarjun said that in view of Diwali, many kids will be out lighting firecrackers. “Hence, our staff are cautioning the people staying in the vicinity not to send small kids outside during night and early morning,” he said, adding that staff of SGNP and Thane Territorial Division are patrolling the area with Aarey Colony volunteers.

According to him, the SGNP has installed around 12 camera traps in the area of incident to monitor leopards.

Around a fortnight ago, on 5 October, a five-year-old boy, Himanshu Yadav, was attacked by a leopard when he was going out to play garba. However, he survived the attack.

The SGNP — the only national park in India and the world to be located within metropolitan limits — has the highest leopard density in the world with around 47 leopards staying in an area of 103 sq km and its periphery.

The SGNP and its larger periphery — spread in three districts of Mumbai Suburban, Palghar and Thane — is frequented by the people of Mumbai.

Besides leopards, the SGNP and its neighborhood, which include the Aarey Milk Colony and FilmCity, is home to more than 275 species of birds, 35 species of mammals, 80 species of reptiles and amphibians, 170 species of butterflies, several species of fish and a staggering 1,300 species of plants.