Leopard or Tiger? Wild Cat Spotted Sprinting Through Fog

Web Desk

05th Aug, 2023. 06:04 pm
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Leopard or Tiger? Wild Cat Spotted Sprinting Through Fog

A leopard was spotted in Lonavala, Maharashtra.
The animal was initially mistaken for a tiger.
The leopard calmly crossed the railway tracks without causing any harm.

Amid heavy rains and flood-like conditions in various parts of the country, the presence of wild animals in residential areas has seen a rise.

A recent video from Maharashtra’s Lonavala captured a wild creature, initially mistaken for a tiger, dashing across the Railway Ghat section.

The footage caused panic among residents. In the video, a man walking on the tracks quickly ran for safety upon spotting the animal.

However, the leopard, not a tiger as initially believed, calmly crossed the railway tracks without causing any harm.

The video has been circulating on the internet, with netizens clarifying the correct identification of the animal.

Lonavala Tourism, who initially shared the clip, also clarified that the “leopard was spotted at 7 in the morning.” A user, seemingly residing in Lonavala, mentioned, “This was the second time the leopard was spotted in a month.”

Spot the 🐆
In the Ghats…#lonavala #pune #mumbairains pic.twitter.com/3km5ixvPUE
— Lonavala Tourism ⛈️ (@LonavalaTourism) August 4, 2023

Not The First Incident:

During the shooting of a Marathi television show at Mumbai’s Goregaon Film City on July 26, a leopard and its cub unexpectedly entered the sets.

This incident led to panic among the crew members present, prompting them to run for safety.

A video of the incident surfaced on social media, showing the chaotic scene as the crew spotted the leopards.

Suresh Shyamlal Gupta, the President of the All Indian Cine Workers Association, expressed his concern about such incidents, pointing out that similar occurrences have taken place in the past.

“More than 200 people were present at the set, someone could have lost their life. This has been the third or fourth such instance within the last 10 days.

The government is not taking strong measures towards this,” ANI quoted Gupta as saying.

Maharashtra Government’s Decision:

Shortly after the Maharashtra government decided to sterilize leopards in response to the increasing population and human-animal conflicts, a wild animal was spotted in Mumbai’s Goregaon Film City during a television show shooting.

The government is expected to submit a proposal to the central government for approval regarding this sterilization initiative.

According to the ‘Status of Leopards, Co-predators and Megaherbivores in India-2018’ report mentioned in Hindustan Times, Maharashtra is home to an estimated 1,690 leopards, contributing to India’s total leopard population of 12,852.

The state ranks third in leopard numbers after Madhya Pradesh (3,421) and Karnataka (1,783). Forest officials believe that the leopard population has seen a noticeable increase in recent years.

Straying incidents of wild animals in Mumbai and nearby areas are common due to the presence of adjacent forest areas.