Leopard rescued from Maharashtra's Bhayandar East to be fitted with radio collar before release

The leopard rescued from Bhayandar East will be fitted with a radio collar before being released into its natural habitat

The leopard rescued from Bhayandar East on Friday, after it entered a housing society and attacked multiple people, will be fitted with a radio collar and subsequently released back into its natural habitat, the director and conservator of forests at Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) told mid-day.

On Saturday, Minister of Forest Ganesh Naik, accompanied by local MLA Narendra Mehta, visited the area where the attacks occurred and later met those injured at a hospital. A forest department source had at the time said that the minister indicated that the leopard may be fitted with a radio collar to monitor its movement after it is released into its natural habitat.

A forest department team, along with a veterinarian, fits a radio collar on a leopard. PICS/BY SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

Naik, Mehta, and Minister of Transport Pratap Sarnaik - who was present at the spot during the rescue operation - also instructed the MBMC and police to scan CCTV footage in the area to check the possible route or area from where this leopard might have reached the densely populated location. Mumbai has one of the highest leopard densities in the world, yet reports of human-wildlife conflict remain remarkably low.

Five leopards radio-collared

Aim of the study

>> From August 2020 to August 2022, the Maharashtra forest department and Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS)-India carried out a joint research project on leopards. For the first time, radio telemetry was used in two phases to study the secretive cats in an urban landscape

The battery-operated collar will send the leopard's movement signals to a satellite, which will send location coordinates at regular intervals. Researchers will track the leopard's location on computer screens and on cellular devices using software that will help track its movements and understand dispersal patterns, particularly whether such animals are moving in search of new territories

>> The project by Dr Vidya Athreya and Nikit Surve from WCS-India aimed to understand leopard-human interactions in the city and also examined how leopards use space and time within the SGNP landscape. Another key focus was tracking how the big cats cross major roads

Outcome of study

>> Leopardesses have a smaller home range compared to their male counterparts. A home range refers to the area in which an animal lives and moves on a periodic basis

Tracking the leopard's movement using VHF antennas will help researchers and officials see if the animal is moving close to human habitation, whether it is more active during the day or at night, and whether it crosses roads, highways or creeks while wandering

>> The smallest home range recorded for an adult female was 2.58 sq km, while the largest for an adult male was 84.26 sq km

The discovery

Mumbai's history with radio-collared leopards goes back ten years when Ajoba, a radio-collared male leopard from Malshej Ghat, walked approximately 120 km and reached SGNP

Forest officials say collaring will help understand how leopards are using the landscape so that long-term conservation and management strategies can be planned. Illustrations/Uday Mohite

Voices

Anita Patil, SGNP director and conservator of forests

‘Thanks to the coordinated efforts of the SGNP team, the Thane forest department (territorial), police officials from Mira-Bhayandar, the MBMC (Mira-Bhayandar Municipal corporation) team, and local NGOs, the leopard was rescued from a densely populated area. As per the directions of the forest minister, it has been decided to fit the leopard with a radio collar so that its movements can be monitored
after it is released back into its natural habitat'

Dr Jitendra Ramgaonkar, chief conservator of forests (wildlife), West

‘It is unusual for such a rescue to take place from a highly dense human-dominated landscape. The main objective behind collaring this leopard is to understand how leopards in Mumbai use and move through the landscape, particularly younger and dispersing individuals. Once we have detailed movement data, it will help the forest department identify patterns, prevent similar human-wildlife conflict incidents in the future, and plan better, long-term conservation and management strategies'

Dr Nikhil Bangar, SGNP veterinarian

‘Bhayandar East is a densely built-up, human-dominated area, making the rescue extremely challenging and risky. What worked in our favour was disciplined planning and calm teamwork. Civilian access was completely stopped, and only essential forest, police and fire personnel were allowed inside the building. The old structure had narrow passages and hidden corners, and the leopard finally took refuge in a bathroom, where darting was difficult due to the confined space. After securing all escape routes, we immobilised and rescued the animal'