Leopard Spotted In Delhi, Advisory Issued For Villages Near Sanctuary

The Delhi Forest department on Thursday issued an advisory in villages adjoining the Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary after a leopard was caught on a camera trap installed near the office of Deputy Conservator of Forests, officials said.

The department has pasted posters in Sangam Vihar, Deoli, and Sanjay Colony Bhatti Mines, alerting residents about the presence of a leopard in the area, an official said.

"The leopard was caught on a camera trap installed just 250 meters away from the Deputy Conservator of Forests' office, South Division, recently. We came to know about it while going through the images last evening," he said.

"We have been making announcements in the villages and asking residents not to venture out alone at night. Parents have been asked to keep an eye on their children," the official said.

Last month, too, residents had informed the department about the presence of a leopard in Mehrauli. A video of the feline sitting atop a DTC bus had triggered panic in the area.

In June, the department had used drone cameras and laid out trap nets after a leopard was spotted at DLF Chattarpur Farms.

Forest department officials say a family of at least three leopards has been living in the wildlife sanctuary for around a year.

The wildlife sanctuary covering 32.71 sqkm area on the Southern Delhi Ridge of Aravalli hill range on the Delhi-Haryana border lies in Southern Delhi and northern parts of Faridabad and Gurugram districts of Haryana.

It is part of the Northern Aravalli leopard wildlife corridor, which extends from the Sariska National Park in Rajasthan to Delhi Ridge.

"The sightings of leopards have increased because the felines have found home here. Three leopards have been spotted in an abandoned open-pit mine," another official said.

The forest department has also recommended constructing a corridor on the Surajkund-Pali road close to the Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary for safe passage of leopards and other animals. It will be the first such passage in an urban setting in India.

According to Bombay Natural History Society's Delhi head, Sohail Madan, around five leopards have died in the last five years on the roads passing through or abutting the wildlife sanctuary.

The forest department escalated the need for a wildlife corridor after a two-year-old female leopard got mowed down by a vehicle on Pali road at the Delhi-Haryana border on June 28.

According to reports, the Gurgaon wildlife department has also decided to convert three stormwater outlets on the National Highway 48 into animal underpasses.