Leopard Caught In Mumbai's Aarey, Officials Unsure If It Attacked Child

A male leopard was captured in Aarey Milk Colony in Mumbai on Wednesday but it was not clear if it had killed a toddler two days ago as another leopard is roaming in the area, a forest official said.

A three-year-old leopard walked into a cage trap set in Unit 16 of Aarey Colony in the small hours of Wednesday and later taken to the rescue centre at the adjoining Sanjay Gandhi National Park, he said.

A one-and-half-year-old girl was attacked and killed by a leopard in Unit 15 of Aarey Colony on Monday morning.

"There is another male leopard, identified as 'C-56', in the field. We will continue to monitor his movements through 30 camera traps and have also set up three trap cages at strategic locations," the forest official said.

It was yet to be ascertained if the captured leopard was the one which killed the girl on Monday as there were two animals in the area, he said.

The captured leopard has been kept under observation of forest department veterinarian Dr Shailesh Pethe, he said.

Around 30 wildlife volunteers, members of NGOs, forest department officials and staff of SNGP are working together to deal with the incidents of human-animal conflict in the area, said Pawan Sharma, president of Resqink Association for Wildlife Welfare and an honorary wildlife warden.

The measures taken for avoiding such incidents include increased patrolling, installation of trap cages and spreading awareness about precautionary steps among local residents, he said.

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