Kalyan villagers get lessons to avoid leopards

Following several sighting of leopards in the Malang Gad Hills, a popular shrine near Kalyan, forest officials are now creating awareness among the locals to not

Following several sighting of leopards in the Malang Gad Hills, a popular shrine near Kalyan, forest officials are now creating awareness among the locals to not venture out at night or climb the hill after sunset unnecessarily.

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The forest department has also set up banners with Dos and Don’ts across the village. The recent sighting of a leopard was by a villager early this week. Malang Gad, also known as Haji Malang, is a popular shrine of Sufi Saint Haji Baba Abdur Rehman Malang in Kalyan, located 13,000 feet high on the hills.

The Hindu community also has an annual Malang Gad procession on these hills. With the shrine closed during the pandemic, there are no devotees and the hills and the villages nearby are frequented by the wild cats.

Late at night on September 29, two leopards – a cub and an adult – were sighted by a villager near Haji Bakhtawar Shah Baba Dargah area, which is the first Dargah on the way to the main shrine. The wild cats were caught on the CCTV footage of the area.

Nasir Khan, one of the trustees of shrine, said, “On Tuesday night, I received a call from one of the caretakers of the shrine. He also sent me the clip of leopard sightings. I soon informed the forest officials about the same. In the past few months, we have sighted more than two to three leopards here. However, they have not harmed anyone till now. We have adequate lighting on the way, keeping the leopards away from the path to the shrine.”

Barking dogs alert villagers of wild cats

Vinod Patil, a villager from Haji Malang, said the leopard was seen earlier too but it was spotted late in the night or in the wee hours. This time, we saw it late in the evening. He said, “Many villagers go down the hill for work and return late in the evening. So, we informed the forest officials. The footage clearly showed a local passing and within seconds the leopard came walking behind. The barking dogs alerted the locals who noticed the leopard.”

The villagers claimed that the forest officials have just put up banners informing how dangerous the animal is. However, no other safety precautions have been taken.

“Prior to lockdown, apart from villagers, devotees used to climb up late night during weekends with family and small kids. The authorities should see that people don’t climb up late at night to avoid any incidents of attack,” added Patil.

Jamir Shaikh, a Kalyan resident and a frequent visitor to the shrine, claimed three leopards – a female and two kids – were spotted frequently. “The CCTV footage clearly shows a small leopard passing at 9:49pm and then at 9:51pm, the adult followed. The sighting has been frequent after the lockdown. The animals are seen near the bus depot down the hill and in different villages, mostly in search of food. Many of the villagers are scared to go out early morning. Instances of leopards eating hens and stray dogs also have become common,” added Jamir.

Repeated sightings of leopards

Pramod Thakar, Range Forest Officer, Badlapur confirmed about the repeated sightings of leopards in the forest hills near Malang Gad and had appealed to devotees or revellers to avoid climbing up during night hours.

“The complete area is connected with hills, leaving the animals enough space to roam around. Many of the villagers have pets like hens, goats and buffaloes. The leopards have good nose and come in search of such easy preys,” added Thakar.

He added that the area being hilly, forest officers cannot use their vehicles to make announcements in the area. A few officials routinely patrol the forest on foot. “We have started awareness programmes and are reaching door-to-door to create awareness and share precautionary measures with villagers and nearby areas where leopards have been sighted in the past few months. We have put up banners and posters. This week we have printed 500 pamphlets to distribute in the tribal villages,” added Thakar.

He added, “In many such sightings, the leopards have not harmed anyone but taking precautionary measures is more important. Our officials and local watchmen keep an eye on the area regularly.”

Safety Tips by Forest Officials:

* While climbing and passing through the forest area, carry a stick.

* Don’t allow kids alone near forest area or sighting area.

* Don’t go for nature’s call in the forest area.

* While climbing on the way or in forest, bend down being alert and looking nearby.

* Don’t throw wastes near the house; use proper dustbin.