Kanjurmarg leopard traced to factory

The forest department (Thane) region has zeroed in on a factory compound to trap a female leopard that has been on the prowl in Kanjur Marg east for the past three days.

The forest department (Thane) region has zeroed in on a factory compound to trap a female leopard that has been on the prowl in Kanjur Marg east for the past three days.

Chandrakant Aher, a factory worker, was the first to spot the leopard under a car outside the Mansukh industrial compound at 9 am on Saturday. Aher immediately informed the police who in turn informed the forest officials at Thane. Aher alerted other workers, who tried to close in on the leopard, but it escaped into the Echjay Forgings factory compound. That was the last time the leopard was spotted. The factory is less than 500m from the Kanjur Marg (east) railway station.

By noon on Saturday, a team of forest officials including veterinarians had set up traps inside the Mansukh and Crompton Greaves Limited compounds. They also searched the Crompton compound that stretches from Kanjur Marg station to Datar Colony in Bhandup (east), but failed to locate the leopard.

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“The pug marks clearly show that the leopard is a female and is two to three years old. We are going to shift the trap inside Mansukh compound to the Echjay Forgings compound while the trap at Crompton will remain where it is”, said Suresh Darade, assistant conservator of forest, Thane region.

The forest department has also formed two two-member teams to keep a vigil at the compounds. Forest officials said that the leopard could have strayed out of the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) while chasing prey.