Watchman claims to have spotted 2 leopards outside farmhouse in Panvel

Forest department increases patrolling after a watchman claimed to have spotted two leopards outside a farmhouse in Panvel; residents told to be careful and not to step out at night

The forest department has increased patrolling near Wakadi village in Panvel after a watchman claimed to have spotted two leopards four days ago. They are also sensitising the local residents and requesting them not to roam around unnecessarily, specifically at night.

A watchman of a farmhouse near Wakadi village in Panvel has claimed to have sighted two leopards roaming outside it on Sunday night. The forest department has increased patrolling around the area. (For representational purposes only) (HT FILE PHOTO)

In September too, two residents of Nere village in Panvel, had claimed to have spotted a leopard. The distance between both the villages is around 6km.

Dnyaneshwar Sonavne, range forest officer of Panvel region, said, “The watchman who works at a farmhouse informed us that he spotted two leopards roaming outside the farmhouse on Sunday night. We are now searching for the animals in the nearby forests. The leopards were not captured by any CCTV camera in that area. Even then, we have increased patrolling and asked the local residents to be careful.”

According to Sonavne, around two years ago, the CCTV cameras of an industry at Taloja MIDC (around 8km from Panvel) had captured a leopard entering its compound. The forest officials searched for it for the next one week but in vain.

“We know that leopards are there in the hills of Matheran and sometimes they come out to the cities. But we have not spotted leopards in the forest of Panvel in the past several years,” Sonavne said.