A leopard cub strayed into a dairy farm in Mumbai's Aarey Colony
A spotted leopard cub was seen in the Aarey Milk Colony in Mumbai on Tuesday. The leopard cub had lost its way and entered a cattle farm in the colony. Residents of the Aarey Milk Colony tried to chase the animal away, according to a report in news agency ANI. Leopard sightings are not uncommon in the Aarey Colony, a rich forest patch, in the city. The milk colony was set up in the 1940s to increase dairy production in the region.
Wildlife including leopards has been seen many times in Aarey Colony also called the Aarey forests, which shares its boundary with the Sanjay Gandhi National Park, an eco- sensitive protected zone. The Aarey forests are one of the last few green spaces left in the city.
The Maharashtra government on September 2 declared one fifth of the Aarey Forests - around 600 acres of green area - as a reserved forest. According to local people, the Aarey Colony always had a leopard population close to an urban space.
The state government has decided to go ahead with a project showcasing the biodiversity of places like Aarey Colony, Sanjay Gandhi National Park and the Sewri Mudflats in Maharashtra. A documentary, 'Wild Mumbai' along the lines of 'Wild Karnataka' is in the pipeline. State environment and tourism minister Aaditya Thackeray, earlier this year had said, "Hopefully it will bring out the side of Mumbai that citizens haven't seen. I hope it will bring us closer to nature."