Leopard sighting has Narela abuzz

NEW DELHI: Narela had an unexpected guest on Monday evening. A leopard was spotted near the Air Force station—the second time in the capital after a leopard family of three was spotted at Asola Bhatti wildlife sanctuary last year.
Forest officials said the current sighting was even recorded on camera by people at the station, who then called up NGO Wildlife SOS. A special team was sent on Tuesday morning to the area even as the forest department also sent a team there.The latter were setting up a cage to capture the big cat.

“The sighting was confirmed by us before we sent a team. A team of Wildlife SOS will also patrol the area for the next few days to check if any pug marks can be found. Locals are also being alerted about the sighting,” said a senior forest official, adding that they would soon set up a cage in the area.
The forest department said it has also written to the Air Force station to send a copy of the video clip.
Officials said no pug marks have been found yet. “It is a large area and we will continue patrolling for the next few days. We are trying to look for pug marks that could indicate where the animal may be residing,” said the official.
But experts said it’s hard to determine how long the leopard may have been there, with sufficient food and water available. “The station area is quite secure and secluded, which is ideal for the animal, and it also has the Ghoga forest nearby. Leopards are very adaptable and generalist species, meaning they can fend for themselves easily and don’t need a specific prey base to survive. The area needs regular monitoring and setting up of mud traps to capture pug marks,” said Faiyaz Khudsar, scientist in-charge at Yamuna Biodiversity Park, adding that the animal may have come to Delhi along the Yamuna corridor.
The park officials had spotted a leopard in December 2016, which was eventually caged and sent to the Shivaliks.