In yet another human-animal conflict, a male leopard was found straying into a residential society in Gurgaon’s Sohna area, near the Haryana border. The spotting happened early on Sunday morning and triggered panic among residents.
The big cat is aged around 5 to 6 years, as per the forest department officials. It entered the Anmol Aashiyana Society of Gurgaon, which is at the foothills of the Aravalli ranges. According to the police officials, the leopard was first spotted by the security guard on duty at the society basement parking, at around 2 AM. Before the panic could spread further, the guard informed the local police authorities. Station house officer (SHO) Chander Bhan took the first call and further initiated a joint rescue operation that went on for hours. By the time concerned officials could reach the society, the residence had trapped the leopard in the sewage treatment plan (STP).
“The leopard took cover behind some sacks and material near a tank inside the STP. Our team strategically cut a small opening in the iron rod gate allowing us to coax the leopard into a cage adjacent to it by sprinkling water through pipes. We prompted the leopard to move into the cage. We were able to capture the leopard safely without using any tranquilise,” said the divisional forest officer, Gurgaon, Ram Kumar Jangra.
The feline was trapped in a healthy state, that could have wandered from the Aravallis in search of food. He could have entered the society by jumping over an under-construction wall. The animal was released into the forest ranges around 20 to 25 km away from the society in the early hours of Sunday.
“A police station official reached the spot and informed officials concerned of the wildlife department. After a joint operation that lasted for several hours, the leopard was caught and released into the forest,” said the Assistant Commissioner of Police, Gurgaon, Abhilaksh Joshi.
Even though Delhi is situated mostly in the plains, a substantial part of the city also has low-level hills. This is because Delhi is situated at the north end of the Aravalli mountain ranges of Northwest India. With the rapid urbanisation, the number of human-animal conflicts around the Aravalli has risen. Approximately 20 days ago, the wildlife department rescued a leopard from a village in Haryana. But the good news is that the population of leopards is increasing because of steps taken for their conservation. What is to be ensured yet is the safety of both humans as well as wild animals. This can be done by separately securing places of inhabitants for both.
