Man's 'best friend' puts its life in line, fights a leopard

Mumbai: The footage of a heroic act by a stray dog has made it the talk of the town. In a rare act, a dog was seen chasing and pouncing on a leopard that was spotted in the premises of Girikung society at around 1 am, in Nagari Niwara Nagar in Goregaon East. Whether the dog was killed remains unclear as the two animals went under the car during the tussle. An unclear CCTV footage shows the fight between the dog and the leopard.

The area, near the Infinity IT Park, is adjacent to SGNP. In the CCTV footage of the parking lot of the society, a leopard was seen entering the area and attacking a dog. While the dog tried to fight back, three more dogs come to his rescue.

According to the residents in the area, the dogs managed to scare the leopard after which it returned to its natural habitat, and the dog that was attacked has sustained injuries.    

Speaking to The Asian Age, Shailesh Rao, a resident of the area and also a member of the Mumbaikars for SGNP explained, “It was due to extensive barking of dogs that the resident got to know something was happening in their parking lot, which made them check the CCTV footage and this came to light. This is nothing for people to worry about as the animal clearly can be seen running back into the park after being chased by the dogs.”

Santosh Kank, Range Forest Department (RFO) of the Thane Forest Department said that their team has begun patrolling the area and will be doing so in order to assure the residents that there was nothing to worry about.

“The animal first looks at his own security and accordingly enters human territory. Hence, the leopard is seen to be coming in to the area only by 1am.”

A study undertaken by SGNP in collaboration with the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) from December 2014 to April 2015, found 35 free-roaming leopards across 140 square km, including in areas outside SGNP, the Nagla forest block across the Vasai Creek and the Aarey Milk Colony.

The forest department will be conducting an awareness program in the area. There hasn’t been any leopard attack in Mumbai since October 2013 due to efforts by the citizens as well as the forest department. The officials of forest department have been conducting several awareness programs for not only people residing around the park but also the tribal communities. The do’s and don’ts issued by the authority and the resident’s initiative have led to reduction in human-animal conflicts despite the forest being in the heart of the city.