Mumbai: Man tries to save dog, gets attacked by leopard in Mulund

It was the dead of night but when Suraj Gavai 28 heard his dog growling and whining outside the house he couldnt resist checking on his pet But when he opened the door he found an entirely different animal staring at him mdash a leopard The big cat sprang at Suraj and gouged his eyeSuraj was rushed to hospital where his condition is stable Experts are calling the incident an accidental attack as the leopard likely pounced out of fright A camera trap was put up in the area and patrolling was boosted following the incidentSuraj was found in a pool of blood by his mother Baby PicsDatta KumbharThe incident took place at 2 am on Sunday when the Gavai family was fast asleep in their room at Mulunds Rahul Nagar slum pocket The area falls under the Tulsi Range of the Sanjay Gandhi National Park SGNP which is home to several leopardsThe spot outside the house where the dog was chainedBlood everywhereSuraj woke up when he heard his Rottweiler yapping desperately outside the house where it had been chained Second after he opened the door to check on the dog the leopard swiped at his face at him His parents woke up to see him in pain and blood They instantly raised the alarm and called Surajs elder brother Jayesh who lives nearby My wife and I quickly rushed there to see the doorsteps covered with blood Suraj was in pain We rushed him to the local hospital While we are praying for his quick recovery we are also frightened since the incident said JayeshSuraj was moved to KEM hospital due to the serious nature of his injuries Having undergone a surgery on his right eye at the Parel hospital late on Sunday morning he is currently under observation The dog suffered a minor injury too and was taken to a local vet hospital where his condition is said to be stableHospital reportThe patient was evaluated by ophthalmology general surgery and plastic surgery departments He has contused lacerated wounds CLW over the right lower eyelid and scalp The plastic surgeon sutured the CLW in the plastic operation theatre the wound was sutured too In the wake of the patient feeling giddy after taking scalp sutures we have admitted him His condition is currently stable said Dr Avinash Supe dean KEM hospitalHigh leopard activityWildlife and humanleopard conflict experts told midday that a combination of factors contributed to Sundays incident Krishna Tiwari founder of the Forest and Wildlife Conservation Society FWCS said that the area with its proximity to SGNP is prone to leopard activityThe area is often unkempt and leopards in search for food are frequent visitors Upon hearing the dog bark the man should not have opened the door to begin with Tiwari addedNikit Surve a leopard researcher from Mumbai said The leopard and the man caught each other by surprise In distress and panic the leopard attacked the manPawan Sharma honorary wildlife warden with the Forest Department said Just last week locals had reported a leopard sighting in the area Citizens need to be vigilant and abide by the dos and donts listed by the authoritiesHe added that following Sundays incident camera traps were installed in the area to track leopard movements Patrolling is also going to be increased Despite repeated attempts to contact Jitendra Ramgaonkar deputy conservator of forest he remained unavailable for commentAlso ReadMumbai Forest department trains people from Thane society to deal with leopardsCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and also a complete guide on Mumbai from food to things to do and events across the city here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates