Leopard and cub sightings trigger concern in rural Panvel

The leopard and cub may have come from the nearby Matheran hill range, forest officials said, while residents said construction activity in the hills may have pushed wildlife closer to human settlements

PANVEL: A series of leopard sightings in Nitalas, a village barely 12 km from Panvel, has sparked concern among residents even as the forest department, on Thursday, began patrolling the area. The leopard and cub spotted in Nitalas may have come from the nearby Matheran hill range, forest officials said, while residents said construction activity in the hills may have pushed wildlife closer to human settlements.

Leopard and cub sightings trigger concern in rural Panvel

While no leopard attacks on humans have been recorded in the area, sightings are neither new nor unexpected. In the past, leopards have been sighted in the Kharghar Hills, Morbe, and Vangani, all part of a wildlife corridor.

In Nitalas, a leopard and cub were first sighted in the outskirts of the village on Monday, residents said. Such encounters were rare but not entirely unexpected since the village was located at the edge of the forest, they noted. But when Kunal Kate, a resident of Nitalas, spotted the same leopard and cub again around noon on Wednesday, villagers apprehended that the earlier sighting was not a chance encounter.

Around 10.30pm on Wednesday, Nilesh Mhatre spotted the leopard and cub again near Chorambyachi Dongri, a hilly tract near the village, while returning home from his farm.

After Mhatre posted the video on social media, it was shared widely in various groups, sparking urgent concerns and some remedial action. On Thursday, local BJP MLA Prashant Thakur submitted a memorandum to Minal Bhamare, the Panvel tehsildar, urging increased surveillance and measures to prevent leopard attacks.

The same evening, personnel and vehicles from the forest department began patrolling the area. They were joined by groups of young men from nearby villages, who were armed with torches and sticks and assisted the forest staff in monitoring the leopard’s purported paths.

“We began patrolling the area on Thursday but haven’t found the animals yet,” Panvel Range Forest Officer (RFO) Gajanan Panpatte told Hindustan Times on Friday. “The animals may have gone back into the forest. But we are continuing night and day patrolling in the area.”

The forest department has put up banners and conducted an awareness campaign to ensure villagers stay safe, Panpatte noted.

“We have urged villagers living near the forest to avoid venturing out alone at night, keep livestock and pets secured indoors after dusk, and move in groups with torches if they must step out late. We have also urged them to report sightings immediately rather than attempting to chase or provoke the animal,” the RFO said.

The department was also exploring preventive measures such as setting up cages and drone surveillance, he added.

While forest officials claimed the leopard and cub may have come from the nearby Matheran hill range, local residents linked the sightings to habitat disruption.

“Large-scale construction, including blasting for tunnels along the Mumbai–Baroda Highway over the past three years may have restricted natural corridors and pushed wildlife closer to human settlements,” said Ashish Mhatre.

The latest sightings highlight the fragile balance between expanding infrastructure and the survival of wildlife in rural areas around Panvel, Mhatre noted.