The leopard, which spread panic in South Delhi’s Sainik Farms and its adjoining areas for the last five days, seems to have returned to its natural habitat. According to the Delhi Government’s forest department officials the leopard has not been seen since Saturday evening but the department’s team remain stationed in the area.
However, residents were advised to remain vigilant for a couple days more. The operation to capture it continued on Tuesday with the help of drone surveillance and at least 50 police personnel were deployed to monitor the situation. Several arterial roads in the area were blocked.
Deputy Conservator of Forest (South Division) Mandeep Mittal said the Forest Department teams combed the area but did not find anything. “The leopard has not been seen since Saturday evening. We are expecting that it has gone back but our team is still there,” he said. The cage that was set up is also there,” he said.
Sushil Jain, a wildlife expert from Bail A Tail NGO, who led the search operation along with the forest department, wildlife and the Delhi Police for the last five days, told The Pioneer that search operation was on Tuesday evening. “A joint team of the force, Forest Department, Western Avenue Resident Welfare Association (WARWA) and an NGO (Bail A Tail) conducted an hour-long search operation in the area in the afternoon but could not find the animal. There was no sighting of leopard for the past two days. That’s why we decided to end operation,” Jain said.
After the search operation, the Residents Welfare Association of Sainik Farms issued an advisory informing that the forest department officials have completed their search.
“As per them the animal seems to have returned to its natural habitat. We can relax for now but still keep our eyes & ears open atleast for a couple of days more. We take this opportunity to thank Our SHO Surinder Rana and his team and the forest officials for their support in this crisis. We on behalf of all residents thank our wonderful Member Sushil Jain for his relentless support,” reads the advisory.
“Last but not the least we salute our Quick Response Teams and our guards who have been on their toes all this time. Meanwhile lets try to keep the story alive so that the unwanted elements stay off our area,” it said.
“On Monday again, a thorough search operation was conducted in the area but the animal was not spotted. Exits were closed from three sides and only the one leading towards the jungle was left open. It is likely that the leopard has gone back into the jungles of Aravallis but we are still on alert,” the police official said.
On Sunday, the Forest Department team conducted a search operation using drones but the leopard was not spotted anywhere, the official added.
The Asola Wildlife Sanctuary shares boundaries with densely populated settlements like Sangam Vihar, Chattarpur, Sainik Farms and Fatehpur Beri and villages such as Mangar and Pali in Faridabad.
In 2021, a leopard was caught on multiple cameras in southwest Delhi’s Najafgarh, leading to cages being installed to catch the animal, but in vain.
A similar exercise was also undertaken in 2016 to trap a leopard that had reached the Yamuna Biodiversity Park (YBP). The state forest and wildlife department eventually trapped the animal, which was then released in the Shivaliks.
