The forest department is baffled how the leopard reached Nanepada, since there are no green buffers near Mulund.
A leopard injured five residents in Nanepada, Mulund (East) on Saturday morning in panic. It was tranquillised by a leopard rescue team from Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) at around 11:40 am.
The forest department is baffled how the leopard reached Nanepada, since there are no green buffers near Mulund.
The chaos started at 7 am, when the male leopard , about five years old, was first spotted in the congested residential locality. Residents raised an alarm and in panic, the leopard ran amok through the narrow by-lanes, attacking anyone it crossed.
It first attacked carpenter Balaji Kamate, injuring his face. Suresh Basutkar, Sunita Sonawane and Savita Kuthe came next – they sustained wounds on their neck, arms and backs. At around 10 am came one of the worst attacks – on Ganesh Pujari's skull.
After this, the greatly agitated leopard darted into Pujari's ground floor flat and hid under the bed his son Amit was sleeping on. Pujari was able to pull Amit out.
"Our team reached the spot around 8.30 am and SGNP's leopard rescue team arrived at about 9 am," said Dr Jitendra Ramgaonkar, Deputy Conservator of Forest (DCF), Thane Forest (Territorial). "One of the most difficult thing to do was cordon off the area as a huge mob had gathered, and some of the lanes could not be blocked. After we ascertained the leopard's location (in Pujari's house), Vaibhav Patil – from the SGNP team – locked the door to the room."
Dr Shailesh Pethe, Veterinary Officer (SGNP), was able to tranquilise the big cat through the window. The leopard was then taken to SGNP where it has been kept under medical observation. It has been microchipped for tracking, and blood was drawn for DNA sampling.
"We are all completely shaken," says Sharda Kadav, who escaped the leopard by a whisker. "I saw the leopard grab Kuthe's neck. The only relief is that there were no deaths."
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