Leopard falls through Thane house roof

The Wedhe family residing in a hutment along Ghodbunder Road have always been used to rainwater leaking from their roof, but last week, they couldn't believe their eyes when their roof 'leaked' a full-grown leopard.

It was around 8.30 pm on Sunday when Zanka Wedhe, along with her daughter Ashal, heard creaking noises from the roof only to notice a leopard stuck midway.

"I was in the adjoining room when I heard my daughter yell after she saw the leopard stuck in the roof with its head facing us. We immediately rushed out and the leopard fell to the ground. However, it did not attack anyone but walked away with a puppy," said Zanka while narrating the incident to wildlife biologist Nikit Surve and staff from Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) who visited the site on Wednesday after learning about the incident.

According to Surve, the family — whose house is roofed with Mangalorean tiles — had a spot that was covered with gunny bags and plastic as the tiles were broken.

"The leopard could have been chasing prey and while running on the roof must have placed its foot on the spot and slipped through the hole. We are glad that the family did the right thing by not blocking the leopard or pelting stones at it," said Surve.

"We have roped in children to help set up camera traps around the area so that we can know the path taken by the leopard," Surve told DNA.