Living with leopards in Mumbai's Aarey

An eerie calm pervades Aarey Milk Colony as soon as the sun sets. Leopards have attacked humans on several occasions last year, and sightings are frequent.

. At the places I visit, on the periphery of the Sanjay Gandhi National Park sandwiched between the eastern and western suburbs of Mumbai, people are alert. From dusk to dawn, if they have to step out, they carry torches or sticks or both.

. Humans and leopards co-exist in Mumbai — and one cannot take chances. The park and several green pockets around it, like the Aarey Milk Colony, Film City, IIT-Bombay are leopard territories, and are spread around 140 sq km.

. This is a miracle city forest, the lung of Mumbai. On my visit, I meet Imran Iqbal Udat, a long-time Aarey Milk Colony resident, and Ranjeet Jadhav, media professional and conservationist. With pandemic restrictions in force, the bustle is muted.

. “You can’t let down your guard,” says Mohammed, a teen living in the area. “A few days ago, I saw a female leopard crossing the road with two cubs.”

. Mohammed’s father Shiraj Salim owns a buffalo farm. Shiraj takes me to a corner of his farm, where a leopard regularly visits and sits on a hay-stack. “Once, it entered the farm but did not attack the buffaloes,” he says.

. “The farm has 16,000 to 17,000 buffaloes at any point. About 500 owners and 1,700-plus workers come here,” says Shiraj.

. The area is shrubby, and among the hillocks are watering holes — two perennial ponds, and a seasonal one. Many streams flow in the area. Vast pastures of the Marutian Para grass are maintained and harvested to provide fodder for cattle.

. This area was the site of several human-leopard conflicts between 2002 and 2004, but now, thanks to the Maharashtra forest department and the park authorities, the casualties have come down.

. “If you look at the number of leopards in Mumbai and the attacks, it clearly reflects co-existence,” a senior forest official says.

. Imran and Ranjeet, with filmmakers Kunal Chaudhar and Satish Lot, Kaushal Dubey, Wasim Athaniya and Hitendra Pachkale, regularly set up camera traps and document the leopards in Aarey.

. The attacks take place mostly in slums, where the leopards spot dogs, pigs and poultry. “These are easy prey,” Imran says.

. The smaller the physical features, the greater the chances of an attack. People squatting in the open to defecate are more vulnerable, as are children out playing. “The families do take precautions but at times the attack happens,” says Imran.

. Darshan Satish Kumar, a 14-year-old, was attacked in October last year. “It was scary,” he says, showing his wounds. He had gone into the woods to relieve himself but strayed into a bushy area.

. The leopard pounced on him and carried him away some distance. His screams alerted people. It was Navratri time and people were dancing the ‘garba-dandiya’. They rushed to his rescue, and scared the leopard away. The memories still haunt him.

. People in the know warn others, but not everyone takes the dangers seriously. “A couple walk their dog every evening. They bring bread, buy milk from my farm and feed the dog. I told them not to bring the dog but they lectured me. One day, I heard screams… I rushed out with a torch to see the couple running. The leopard had made an attempt to grab the dog, but thankfully, the dog escaped,” he says.

. Kiran Bhoir, resident of an adivasi hamlet, saw a female with two cubs last week. “Six eyes were glowing. Immediately I informed people in the vicinity,” he says.

. Nikit Surve, researcher with Wildlife Conservation Society-India, has carried out extensive camera trapping in the area. “Our research indicates that human leopard interactions are common. The Warlis, the indigenous tribes inhabiting the area, accept the presence of leopards. They also appear to know about their behaviour,” he says.

. Bibash Ghosh, resident of Mumbai’s western suburbs, has seen leopards several times. “Some time ago, a leopard visited our complex. We heard the barking of dogs throughout the night. The next morning, we saw CCTV footage of a leopard resting here,” he says.

. In September last year, 68-year-old Nirmaladevi Singh was attacked by a leopard, but she repulsed it, and the CCTV footage went viral online. She fell back twice before she mustered the courage to jab the leopard with her walking stick. She suffered injuries on face, neck, elbow, chest and back.

. Hearing her screams, her family and neighbours rushed out. The leopard retreated and vanished into the jungles.

. NATIONAL PARK SNAPSHOT

. The Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) is a good case study to understand of the man versus nature conflict. The SGNP is pure wilderness in the heart of Mumbai, surrounded by a population of two crore people. In terms of space, the SGNP is around one-sixth of Mumbai. It’s a miracle that a jungle exists in Mumbai.

. Considered the Green Lung of Mumbai, the SGNP is the only national park in the world to be located within the metropolitan limits of a hustling-bustling city. The SGNP and its neighbourhood is home to 47-odd leopards — the highest leopard density in the world.

. It is spread over 104 sq km. If one includes the green cover of areas like the Aarey Milk Colony, Film City, and Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay in Powai, it is around 140 sq km.

. The SGNP is not only important for Mumbai but the larger Mumbai Metropolitan Region which comprises parts of Thane, Palghar and Raigad districts. Leopard (Panthera pardus) is the top carnivore in the park. Often, the park is in the news for human-animal conflict involving leopards.

. WHO IS WATCHING THEM?

. The Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) initiated a radio-collaring project last February. Ecologist Vidya Athreya from Bengaluru and wildlife researcher Nikit Surve from Mumbai, both associated with Wildlife Conservation Society-India, are playing key role.

. So far, they have radio-collared and released four leopards aged three to eight. Their names are Savitri, Maharaja, Kranti and Jeevan.

. An ongoing study has revealed that Maharaja, a male leopard, has walked from SGNP to Tungareshwar Wildlife Sanctuary crossing the busy Chinchoti Bhiwandi Highway and Vasai-Diva railway line in Mumbai. He walked around 62 km in six days, covering 8 km during day time and 54 km at nights.

. On November 9, 2021, another female leopard (C33-Delta), radio-collared by Bilal Habib of Wildlife Institute of India, was seen in a housing complex in Goregaon East in Mumbai.

. “The forest department and a team of researchers are continuously monitoring its activity and there is nothing to panic,” says G Mallikarjuna, the director of SGNP. “One more would be released in weeks to come,” says Vidya.

. Ajoba’s movements

. A 2014 Marathi film was based on a radio-collared leopard who walked 120 km, criss-crossing human settlements to reach home, the jungle. The leopard and film were called Ajoba.

. April 16, 2009: Full-grown male leopard rescued from a well in a village near Pune.

. May 1, 2009: Fitted with a radio collar and released at Malshej Ghats in the Western Ghats.

. May-July, 2009: Tracked crossing tracks, highways, and pockets of civilisation, swimming across the Vasai creek, and entering one of the main areas of SGNP, Mumbai.

. July 17, 2009: No reading from GPS collar as the tracking device malfunctioned.

. Dec 1, 2011: Killed in an accident by a heavy vehicle on NH 8.

. Warlis worship Waghoba, the big cat deity

. The indigenous Warli people of Maharashtra worship a deity called Waghoba, primarily for protection from the big cats.

. About 150 shrines for Waghoba have been documented across Maharashtra, and some are in the Sanjay Gandhi National Park-Aarey and its vicinity.

. “It is because of Waghoba that we are here,” says Prakash Bhoir, tribal leader who commands respect in the closely-knit tribal community. The deity combines characteristics of the leopard and the tiger.

. “In this area, the leopard rules, and we have to respect Waghoba,” says Prakash, a resident of Keltipada.

. A look at his house reveals the artist in him. It is filled with musical instruments, and Warli paintings hang on the wall.

. There are 27 adivasi hamlets in the Aarey area, 11 inside the national park and two near IIT-Bombay. “We have been living here for ages. We have co-existed with the deity. The leopards do not harm us and we take all precautions,” says Prakash, recalling how his generation used to sleep out in the open at night.

. Now that is not possible because leopards are on the lookout for prey. “Actually, it is not the leopards straying out but people encroaching the jungle,” he says, adding that the adivasi settlements have existed for centuries.

. “Just like birds and animals, we live in the jungle and Waghoba protects us,” said Prakash.

. For his son’s wedding, the family had decorated the house with lights. Just as the rituals were about to begin, a leopard appeared. “Waghdev blessed the couple and left,” he says, smiling.

. Prakash is giving the finishing touches to a painting of the leopard.

. ‘Sharing Spaces and Entanglements With Big Cats: The Warli and Their Waghoba in Maharashtra, India’ is the name of a study released last year.

. Authored by Ramya Nair, Dhee, Omkar Patil, Nikit Surve, Anish Andheria, John D C Linnell and Vidya Athreya, the paper was published in a special issue of the journal 'Frontiers of Conservation Science'.

. The study was conducted by researchers from WCS-India, NINA, Norway, and Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences, and supported by the Wildlife Conservation Trust.

. The Warlis believe Waghoba protects them from the negative impact of sharing space with big cats if humans worship the deity and conduct rituals, especially during the annual festival of Wagh Baras.

. Researchers suggest that such reciprocal relationships facilitate the sharing of spaces between humans and leopards.

Living with leopards in Mumbai's Aarey

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