Thursday's incident of a three-year-old leopard straying into a residential colony and causing injuries to two residents caused panic and fear among the residents of Gurugram district who are residing along the Aravallis.
Not only are leopards being increasingly spotted on the outskirts of Gurugram, but there are also reports of wild cats being spotted in the posh areas located along the Golf Course Road and Gurugram-Faridabad Road. Even as the citizens in Gurugram may be fretting over the wild cats now straying frequently into human habitats, the forest division officials have expressed optimism over the sightings of the wild cats.
According to the forest division officials the frequent sightings of wild cats highlight a case of increase in population of leopards in Gurugram district.
The forest officials mention that there was a time when large number of leopards used to inhabit the Aravallis situated in and around Gurugram. There was huge decline in the population of leopards in the eighties.
Officials have also maintained that there is a possibility of some leopards also entering into the city from Sariska forest that is situated in Rajasthan.
With frequent sightings, the city forest officials have now started holding camps in various villages on the issue of dealing with leopards. In these camps the villagers are being taught about the procedures towards ensuring one's own safety along with the safety of the leopards.
"It is a positive sign that there are frequent sightings of leopards in and around Gurugram. Starting in the eighties the areas of Mandawar, Hassanpur, Alipur, Sultanpur and the forests along Manesar that contained large population of leopards began to show decline for various reasons. After a long time these incidents of sightings of leopards are being reported from the Aravallis in Gurugram," said Shyam Sundar Kaushik, Divisional Forest Officer, South Haryana
"It must be made aware that leopards do not harm the humans unless provoked. In the recent incidents where leopards have injured humans, there have been instances of provocation as well scaring the animal.
"It is a big challenge for the officials to restore the rich wildlife of Aravallis of which leopards are an integral part. While there have to be steps taken to preserve the green belt of Aravallis, steps will also have to be taken to prevent the conflict between wild animals and humans," added Kaushik.
Meanwhile, the environmental activists in the city have cited that the rapid degradation of Aravallis is adversely affecting its rich wild life.
"Most of the wildlife in Aravallis is on the verge of extinction as the public officials have selfishly destroyed the green belt.
"The recent cases of leopards venturing into residential colonies should be the warning signs for those people who want to destroy the remaining green belt of Aravallis," said Amina Sherwani, an environmental activist.