Radio-telemetry of Sanjay Gandhi National Park leopards reveals interesting facts

The first-ever detailed radio-telemetry used to understand the leopards’ secret life in the unique habitat of Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) of Mumbai and the adjoining areas has come up with several interesting insights including their movement, ranges and territory.

The study documented instances where leopards were nearby humans, but humans were unaware of it.

The Maharashtra Forest Department and the Wildlife Conservation Society-India undertook a collaborative research project to study these elusive creatures. The project aimed to understand leopards’ interactions with humans in this urban landscape.

The research project titled “Understanding leopards and their interactions with people: dispersal, home range size & habitat use of leopards in a human-dominated landscape of Mumbai using GPS telemetry” was funded and supported by the Maharashtra Forest Department, Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies [RNP], Wildlife Conservation Society – India (WCSI), the Reliance Foundation and DBS Bank with technical support and veterinary guidance from the Wildlife Conservation Trust and Wildlife SOS.

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This two-year project has been completed in two phases, from August 2020 to August 2022.

The five leopards monitored are: Savitri (L115), Maharaja (L93), Kranti (L95), Jeevan (L126) and Tulsi (L36).

The collared leopard individuals were monitored by field staff and researchers for three to four months by actual on-field tracking. A total walk effort of approximately 700 km was put into data collection.

G Mallikarjuna, Conservator of Forests and Park Director, SGNP and Nikit Surve, Program Head, Wildlife Conservation Society- India were closely involved in the study.

The study found that female leopards showed smaller home ranges as compared to male leopards.

The smallest home range recorded was 2.58 sq. km for an adult female (L36), and the largest was 84.26 sq. km for an adult male (L93) (at 95% MCP). Overall the home ranges documented in this study were smaller as compared to other studies from India, probably due to the adequate availability of prey.

“Their diet mainly comprised domestic prey available throughout the periphery of SGNP. We identified 97 feeding events between all five collared leopards, of which about 79.38% comprised domestic prey. We also observed leopards making kills of spotted deer and Sambars,” the study states.

It was observed and documented two collared females (L36 and L95) with cubs during our monitoring period, and both gave birth to a new litter of new cubs towards the end of the summer season in 2022. One of the collared females was documented mating during this telemetry project.

Mumbai’s history with radio-collared leopards runs ten years back when Ajoba, a radio-collared male leopard from Malshej Ghat, walked approximately 120 km and reached SGNP. The study was spearheaded by Dr Vidya Athreya.