A 34-year-old woman was injured in an attack by a leopard at Aarey Colony in suburban Goregaon, in Mumbai, on Friday evening.
“Sangita Gurav, a resident of Aarey Colony, was returning home from her workplace when she spotted a leopard in the area and started running to save herself but fell down. After that, the leopard pounced on her,” a police official said.
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Leopard disappeared into forest
The woman sustained injuries on her neck and back.
After being alerted, the police and forest officials rushed to the spot and shifted the woman to a hospital.
She is said to be out of danger and responding well to the treatment and the leopard that disappeared into the forest is still elusive.
Second leopard attack this week
This was the second leopard attack in Aarey Colony this week.
On the night of November 6, a man was attacked by a leopard, leaving him with minor injuries.
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Days before, on October 24, a 16-month child was killed in a leopard attack in Aarey.
Increase in human activity and leopard attacks
According to environmentalists, leopard attacks in Aarey increased after work commenced on the controversial metro car shed site.
They claimed at least three leopards have been displaced from their habitat in the metro car shed site.
Aarey and the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) are home to over 40 leopards, making it one of the densest populations of the species anywhere in the world.
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Last month following the attacks, the Forest Department captured two leopards from Aarey.
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Environmentalists have long opposed the capture and relocation of leopards, arguing that if it continues, their population in the wild will be wiped out in a few years.
But the two attacks this week have suggested that there could be more ‘dangerous’ leopards in Aarey.
Aarey’s leopards are under stress
Wildlife experts have, however, pointed out that the leopards attacking humans are not man-eaters and that there could be other reasons for their behaviour.
Wildlife biologist Anand Pendharkar recently told Indiatimes that the leopards in Aarey are living under increasing stress from the loss and fragmentation of their habitat, growing human and vehicle presence, and construction activities that are making them more aggressive.
Last year, the Forest Department, Wildlife Conservation Society and Wildlife SOS launched an initiative under which leopards were radio-collared to study their movement pattern, which experts believe will shed more light on their behavioural patterns.
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