Sanjay Gandhi Park to have leopard safaris

The Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP), which is sandwiched between the eastern and western suburbs of Mumbai and stretches up to Thane district, will soon be having leopard safaris — and this will be as per the international standards.

The SGNP already has a tiger safari and a lion safari — both currently undergoing refurbishment — but now there will be an addition to it, a leopard safari. “We are going through lot of research and very soon we will start implementing the project and once through it is going to be the best, we would also be learning from international experiences,” officials of the Forests department and SGNP  said.

As far as the initial plan is concerned, the leopards which are caught during incidents to human-animal conflicts, could be kept in the leopard safari. “Instead of isolating the leopard, provision will be made in such a way that leopards will be free in restricted areas where it can’t get out of the fence but tourists will be able to see the leopards by visiting the area by travelling in a caged vehicle,” the officials said.