Mumbai: Palghar woman killed in suspected leopard attack

A 52yearold woman was killed in an alleged leopard attack in Palghar district marking the first human fatality linked to humanleopard conflict in the area in nearly eight yearspopcorn numberOctober 9 descDay the fatal attack is believed to have occurred classDefaultForest department personnel conduct awareness drives in nearby villages on safety precautions following the leopard attackTragic findVictim identity Pangli Govind Kolha lived in Bhoglepada No 2 near Navali village with her home located along the forest fringeTimeline of events She was last seen on the evening of October 8 and is believed to have entered the adjoining forest early on October 9 when the attack occurredBody recovery Her body was discovered in a forest patch at Reserved Forest Survey Number Lo9 Navali village within the Vevur beatOfficial confirmation Following a joint investigation by forest and police personnel a postmortem on October 11 confirmed death by a wild animal attackRare sightingsThe incident has left residents and forest department officials surprised as leopard sightings near Navali have been extremely rare with no previous record of humanleopard conflict in the area While big cat sightings are relatively frequent in the Boisar and Dahisar forest ranges in Palghar district Navali had remained largely quiet until nowOfficialSpeakRita Vaidya range forest officer SaphalelsquoFollowing reports of leopard movement in Mathane Edvan and Ghatim villages our field staff are actively creating awareness among villagers about safety precautions protection of children and livestock and safe coexistence with wildlife We urge residents to remain alert avoid approaching or provoking the leopard and immediately inform the forest department about any sightings Public cooperation is essential to ensure the safety of both people and wildlifersquoRamanuj Bangad assistant conservator of forestslsquoHer body was recovered and preliminary findings suggest that the death was due to humanleopard conflict This is the first such fatality in the area in seven to eight yearsrsquoActive tracking The forest department has stepped up efforts to track the animal and prevent further incidents Continuous day and night patrols have been deployed across Navali and neighbouring forest areas Camera traps are being installed to monitor the animalrsquos movement and a trap cage has been set up to capture the big cat Officials are conducting awareness campaigns through traditional public announcements and doortodoor visits The process to provide financial assistance to the deceasedrsquos family has begun as per state government guidelinesAvoidabletragedyWildlifer Anand Patil PalgharlsquoLeopard sightings have been reported here for the past month or two even during the day Had the forest department acted earlier this tragedy could have been avoided Officials claim the incident site is 15 to 20 km away from previous sightings assuming a big cat couldnrsquot travel that far mdash a misconception as leopards routinely cover such distances The department must step up patrolling to capture the animal which locals describe as bold and frequently seen near settlementsrsquoVigilance advisory issuedIn a press release Niranjan Subhashrao Diwakar Deputy Conservator of Forest DCF Dahanu urged residents to remain vigilant and avoid entering forest patches alone during early morning or latenight hours