Leopard spotted near Asola forest on Delhi’s outskirts, locals to be alerted

Two men in a car spotted the leopard on Karni Singh Road. It was probably stalking a Nilgai because the men also saw a Nilgai close by. When they returned to the spot with a few other men the next morning, they found the carcass of the Nilgai around 200 metres from where the leopard was spotted.

A leopard was spotted near the Asola Bhatti sanctuary along the Delhi-Haryana border on Saturday night after a gap of exactly six months. The big cat made a kill, a Nilgai, confirming its presence.

The last time a leopard was spotted inside Asola Bhatti Sanctuary was on February 18 on Delhi’s side. The Asola Bhatti Sanctuary has around 18 mammal species, 240 birds, 95 butterfly, and 26 reptiles and amphibians. (Picture for representation)

The Delhi Forest department plans to set up boards inside the sanctuary to raise awareness among locals, who often use the forest roads at night, to avoid any untoward incident.

“A leopard was spotted just outside the sanctuary around 9:30 pm on Saturday. Though it was spotted on the Haryana side, it was very close to the border, less than 50 metres,” said a senior forest department official requesting anonymity.

Two men in a car spotted the leopard on Karni Singh Road. It was probably stalking a Nilgai because the men also saw a Nilgai close by. When they returned to the spot with a few other men the next morning, they found the carcass of the Nilgai around 200 metres from where the leopard was spotted.

The Nilgai was partially eaten and there were laceration wounds in its neck, prompting forest officials to believe it was indeed a leopard. The news was soon relayed to the Delhi forest department.

“Sometimes people mistake other wildcat species or even a dog as a leopard when they see it at night. But Asola has no other cat species larger than a leopard, which can bring down an animal like Nilgai,” the official said citing an example in which locals claimed to have spotted a leopard near the Air Force station at Narela. It could not be traced later.

The last time a leopard was spotted inside Asola Bhatti Sanctuary was on February 18 on Delhi’s side. The Asola Bhatti Sanctuary has around 18 mammal species, 240 birds, 95 butterfly, and 26 reptiles and amphibians.

“Though the leopard was spotted in Haryana, it is very close to the border. We will put up boards in the sanctuary to raise awareness about leopards. Locals frequently use the forest roads at night,” the official said.

Haryana had recently said in a report to the union environment and forest ministry that even though the sanctuary has long been a leopard habitat, there have been no sighting of the animal in the recent past.

“The leopard spotted at the sanctuary is not the first of its kind to reside in Delhi nor will it be the last. The city’s landscape has historically supported not only leopards but also gazelles and wolves. Though much of the Aravalli hills has been invaded by construction and the wildlife here has substantially diminished, patches of the forest still provide refuge to many wild animals,” said Sohail Madan, centre manager at Conservation Education Centre maintained by the Bombay Natural History Society at the sanctuary.