Two days after toddler’s death, forest officials trap two leopards

Virat A Singh

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Posted On Tuesday, November 20, 2012 at 02:02:40 AM

Two leopards - one aged around one-anda-half years, and the other believed to be full-grown - were trapped at Maroshipada near Aarey Milk Colony between 5 am and 8.15 pm Monday. Late on Monday, the forest officials spotted yet another leopard in the vicinity, but it wasn’t caught till the time of going to press. The cats were trapped on the day the forest department formed two teams of 10 members to patrol the periphery of Sanjay Gandhi National Park, after a two-year-old girl was killed by a leopard in Bhandup on Saturday night. The victim, Usha Yadav, was a resident of Adivasipada, on the periphery of the national park. Around 10 pm Saturday, the victim entered the bushes to answer nature’s call, when the leopard attacked her. The animal dragged her into the forest, and the child’s limbs and head were found around 300 mt inside the forest the next day. In the past five months, this is the third incident of a leopard attacking humans, sparking off speculations of a man-eater on a prowl. On November 2, a 50-year-old woman was killed at Maroshipada near Aarey Colony, while a six-year-old Mulund girl lost her life in a similar manner in July. G T Chavan, deputy conservator of forests (Mumbai division) said, “Those residing on the park periphery are scared, leading to rumours. On Monday, our officials trapped two leopards at Maroshipada, where a 50-year-old woman was killed in an animal attack recently.” The younger leopard was trapped around 5 am, while the other was trapped at 8.15 pm. The forest officials said it was yet to be established whether the full-grown leopard was the other’s mother. The forest officials have set up traps at Adivasipada and Maroshipada, and said night patrols will be intensified. Residents of the tribal hamlets on the park periphery have been told to avoid entering the bushes in the night, and keep the livestock caged.