Volunteers to help forest dept collect forensic evidence on

The Thane forest department has started an initiative under which it will train a team of volunteers who are locals from Aarey Milk Colony in the collection of forensic evidence of leopards involved in cases of human-animal conflict, as most of the locals are often the first to reach the site.

On Thursday, in a first of its kind session, Himanshu Chhattani, an expert, explained to the volunteers not only the importance of collecting samples like saliva, scat and hairs of the big cat from conflict sites but also the correct procedures to be followed, which could help in identifying the animal involved in the conflict.

"We were trained on how to use swabs to get saliva samples if a leopard has attacked a livestock or human," said Satish Lot, a resident, adding that the collected sample could then be matched with samples of the trapped animal to complete the identification process.

The fact that the forest department has begun taking wildlife forensics seriously is the result of several activists and wildlife experts emphasising on the need of proper identification of leopards that are termed 'problem animals' and trapped. After a recent spate of attacks, Honorary Wildlife Warden (Mumbai city) Sunish Kunju had written to the forest department questioning if the trapped leopard from Film City — suspected to be behind four attacks and one death — had any proper scientific basis as one could not always rely on camera trap images.

A senior forest department official from Thane said, "While we are also planning to train our own staff, we thought of initiating trainings with volunteers from Aarey as they are often the first to reach the site of conflict."