Looking for some privacy, leopard couple scares IITians

June 30, 2012 at 04:11:14 AM

Students at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Powai got the shock of their lives when they noticed a pair of leopards prowling their campus grounds two days ago. However, on Friday, forest officials, who had been on the cats' tails since they were spotted, said the leopards had probably strayed into the campus while looking for a spot to mate, and seemed to have returned to the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP). On Wednesday, the forest department received a panic call from the IIT staff saying that they had spotted two leopards prowling around the staff quarters. Ten officials were instantly sent to Powai where they trailed the cats for two days. "The pair must have entered the campus while looking for a spot to mate as the campus has a dense green cover. But it seems that they left the campus on Friday morning. To be on the safer side, our staff will continue to keep an eye in the area," said the Deputy Conservator of Forest (Thane Division), GT Chavan.  To track the leopards, forest officials patrolled the campus, recording the leopards' movements with the help of their pug-marks. On Wednesday, a forest guard saw the two cats moving towards the outskirts of the campus. Sunil Limaye, chief conservator of forest and director of SGNP said, "We have sent our volunteers who are working on the ongoing 'Mumbaikars for SGNP' project for leopards to try and set up camera traps on different points of the campus. Then if they return, we can try and identify them by comparing them with the images of leopards that we have." IIT officials and students were still not convinced that the leopards had moved out of the campus. "The leopards were seen close to the Directors bungalow near a garage. Forest officials who were patrolling the area were not allowing anyone to move around inside the campus after 7 pm. Many students and faculty began to panic. We were told that the leopards have left but we are still scared," said an IIT official. He further said that leopards frequently came close to the buildings during monsoons as to prey on dogs who take shelter near the building. However, wildlife biologist Vidya Athreya, who has been studying leopards as the collaborator of 'Mumbaikars for SGNP', said that while there was no cause for panic, it was necessary to take basic precautions. "If a leopard is sighted, it must be given right of way. Any loud actions or aggressive stances by humans can cause it to react, leading to unintended consequences. We need to understand that leopards are residents of the area as it is adjoining thick forest pockets," she said.