On Thursday, three people were reportedly injured when a leopard strayed into a residential area of Kalyan, near Mumbai. Social media videos circulated of the big cat jumping across a building’s window.
Forest officials had arrived at the location and were attempting to capture it.
“I saw the leopard on the first floor. People were screaming for help. A man went inside the building despite the warning and was attacked by the leopard. Some of us with sticks in hand scared it away,” said a local.
Three days earlier, a leopard was allegedly spotted on the campus of the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT-B) in the Powai area. On Monday morning, the forest department received a distress call, and a team was dispatched to the location to determine whether the sighting was cause for concern, according to official.
Leopards are generally nocturnal. Sightings during the day are not very common, he said.
However, as the IIT-B is located close to the Sanjay Gandhi National Park there are chances of sightings in the day too. Moreover, with the drop in temperature in the last 48 hours and the cold wave alert, leopards can be spotted during the day, he said.
After being informed, the personnel of police and forest departments reached the spot and started the rescue operation. The animal was tranquilized and caged and taken to the forest department office, he said.