Leopard crossing highway run over by car in Dahanu

A three-year-old male leopard was killed after being hit by a speeding car on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad national highway, in Dahanu on Tuesday morning, forest department

A three-year-old male leopard was killed after being hit by a speeding car on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad national highway, in Dahanu on Tuesday morning, forest department officials said.

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An unidentified motorist was headed towards the Ahmedabad highway in Dahanu when it collided with the leopard, near Dhanivari area.

Leopard died on the spot, said Rahul Marathe, range forest officer (RFO).

As per the post-mortem report, the leopard was hit on the head and died due to a cardiac arrest, said Marathe.

“The spot is an active leopard crossing area, and there are signboards cautioning motorists to go slow and be alert for the animals crossing the highway in search of prey,” said Marathe. The carnivore was then cremated as per the rules, and the unidentified driver has been booked under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.

According to Department estimates, around 20 leopards have been killed by a vehicle on the Palghar-Vasai stretch since 2004. “We have appealed to the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) which constructed the Ahmedabad highway to build underpass and overpass at wildlife corridors so that animals can cross safely,” said a forest department official.

Vidya Athreya, wildlife expert, said, “As per the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) study, a decade ago, it was recommended to construct overbridges and underpasses on highways for both, humans and animals. About 1.5 lakh pedestrians lost their lives and 5 lakh got injured in India in 2018 alone due to lack of such structures.”