Mumbai: Leopard spotted near residential society in Bhawani Nagar at Andheri East; watch video

Mumbai: A CCTV camera captured a leopard roaming near the residential area at plot no. 1 in Bhawani Nagar in Marol, Andheri (East). The incident was caught on the CCTV of the residential complex on March 7.

The leopard was seen lurking at a street having parked cars around.

People living in the vicinity could not detect its its trail. There are no reports of anyone being attacked.

The Forest Department has visited the site to inspect the regions where the leopard was spotted in the CCTV footage after receiving information from the locals, according to an update from the Bhawani Nagar Federal Committee.

The leopard was seen outside Deepak Jyoti Daffodils CHS.

Forest officials have set up track cameras in multiple places near the society to capture the leopard’s movements and safely rescue it.

The leopard has not caused any harm to human life. However, a stray dog was attacked fatally, sources said.

While leopards and humans have peacefully coexisted in Mumbai, there have been quite a few leopard sightings in Thane, Kalyan, Goregaon, and Andheri, which are areas near Sanjay Gandhi National Park.

Recently, Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar's makeup artist on the sets of 'Bade Miyan Chote Miyan' was attacked by a leopard after wrapping up the shoot in Mumbai's film city, located in the Goregaon suburbs.

November 2022

Earlier in November 2022, a leopard entered a Kalyan residential complex and attacked a few people before he was finally captured by the Forest Department.

August 2020

In August 2020, a leopard was spotted along the boundary of a residential area, near JB Nagar in the Andheri-MIDC area (east), and was successfully captured by the Forest Department.

April 2019

In April 2019, Forest Department officials rescued a leopard from the Woodland Crest building in Vijay Nagar, Andheri, Mumbai. The leopard was seen in the space below the staircase.

According to a paper titled, Leopards in the city: Tale of Sanjay Gandhi National Park and Tungareshwar Wildlife Sanctuary, two protected areas in and adjacent to Mumbai, India, published in the international journal Frontiers, Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) has the highest documented density of leopards in the world.

According to data collected in 2015 and 2016, there are 35 leopards living near the Sanjay Gandhi National Park, which borders the city.