Leopard attracts the attention of employees at Powai business park

Leopard attracts the attention of employees at Powai business park

Author: Pawan Sharma @ RAWW (Resqink Association for Wildlife Welfare)

Since last Monday a leopard is been spotted on the hills infront of Supreme business park at Powai. The location is near Hiranandani gardens which is not connected to the SGNP (Sanjay Gandhi National Park) and thus as become a reason of concern for many.

Almost every afternoon the big cat is seen resting on a tree which is on the top of the hill.  Employees are now seen with binoculars and cameras attempting to capture some images. Many such images and posts are seen on social networking sites. The area has also attracted many wildlife enthusiasts to visit and catch a glimpse of the wild cat. However the authorities do not allow visitors and have kept a high security check. Many wildlife organizations and media too are following the event and keeping a track of latest happenings there.

Many employees have shown concern in this matter as the wild cat is not in its actual habitat which is the national park. Some have also approached us to share some information and awareness so that any kind of human wildlife conflict can be avoided which we are already doing.

Everybody is keen to know what next is going to happen and there are few predictions like the animal will be trapped and taken away from there or will be left alone to go back to the wild on its own.

The forest department has visited the area and as per their survey they feel that there is no need to trap the wild cat. We are following up with the forest department as well as our sources and other employees of the site.

Such things are possible in a city like Mumbai which is connected to the national park. Powai too shares its boundaries with the park as well as the Aarey milk colony which  is a habitat to the wild cats and has a healthy population of the same. Nobody exactly knows when and from where did the big cat came to the current territory. A vast area with availability of food and water is proving to be a good residence for the big cat.

While interacting to the employees and workers in and around the area, we came across the fact that people are co-existing with the wildkind which we should highly appreciate. However safety is a concern for the residents, as the area has play grounds occupied by children and many feel that the leopard must be trapped.

Human-wildlife conflict can be avoided if precautions are taken like keeping the area clean, well lit and fenced wherever necessary. Also being alert as the evening starts and keeping the forest department updated about the sightings.

The emergency helpline numbers of the forest department are :

02225445459 - Mumbai Range (territorial wing)

02228866449 - SGNP (Sanjay Gandhi National Park)

While interacting with our members for their inputs

 Navin Pollampalli the committee member said "People should be alert and aware about the certain things that should be followed when they are sharing space with the leopard, co-existence with the wild is simple if sincerity is maintained".                                                                                    "Our team will be extending all possible support to the residents as well as the forest department whenever necessary" he concluded.

Adwait Jadhav, core team member of RAWW and a student of zoology said, "The leopard may have landed at the Powai hills in search for food and water which are available there as there is abundant dog population and may have decided to stay there for more time because of the easy prey base".

With humans the wildlife too has become urban and management of urban wildlife is a challenging task, as it includes more complications and pressure everywhere from the wildkind to the citizens and even the government (forest department) and the NGOs working for environment and wildlife. But with growing awareness and the flow of proper information the pressure levels can be brought down and quality management levels can be raised.

Rushil Bhatt, GM for RAWW and a researcher said "We received a distress call on one of our helpline number on 26th May regarding a dog hunt by a leopard at a construction site at Powai. Since then we are following up with the event and our team is in constant contact of the forest department, the residents and employees of the area".

The green triangle on both the maps are the locations

The big cat resting on the top of the hills just opposite to the business park.

The employees are having a great time, all the staff and workers enjoy watching the wildkind and sharing information about its sightings.