Gurgaon: Leopard sighting triggers panic in Manesar

Some passersby had spotted a leopard crossing the Gurgaon-Manesar road in the early morning hours on Friday

An alleged leopard sighting triggered panic among residents of Manesar on Friday. Villagers claimed that they saw a leopard crossing the Gurgaon-Manesar road in the early morning hours.

In February 2009, a leopard and her two cubs were injured by a speeding vehicle on NH-48 near Manesar. Similarly, in November 2014, a twelve-year-old male leopard was killed in a road accident in Manesar. (Parveen Kumat/HT Photo)

The wildlife department was informed about the incident, after which a team was sent to the location to investigate the matter. Some passersby had spotted a leopard crossing the road, officials were told.

“Our team inspected the area and found no pug marks. However, we cannot rule out the presence of a leopard in the region as earlier too, there were instances of wildlife sighting in the area,” said Shyam Sunder Kaushik, divisional forest officer, Gurgaon.

In September, 2008, a three-year-old male leopard, crossing NH-48 near Manesar village, was killed in road accident.

In February 2009, a leopard and her two cubs were injured by a speeding vehicle on NH-48 near Manesar. Similarly, in November 2014, a twelve-year-old male leopard was killed in a road accident in Manesar.

All of these cases were reported from the same area and the wildlife department act swiftly on any report of leopard sighting.

On November 24, a two-and-half-year-old male leopard was beaten to death by villagers of Mandawar after it strayed into the village, 40 km from Gurgaon.

Wildlife officials who reached the spot were not equipped to tranquillise or capture the animal.

“Spotting a leopard is a good sign for wildlife. The area needs protection and a wildlife corridor. The government is yet to decide on a proposal to build such a corridor,” said Vivek Kamboj, environmentalist.

The proposal for radio collaring leopards in the region is also on hold. “We submitted the proposal last year but the government is yet to approve it,” said MD Sinha, conservator of forest, South Haryana.