Living With The Leopards - Practical Ways to Live With Leopards and Minimize Danger to Ourselves

Living With The Leopards

On the Environment Day,  the Environment Minister released a leaflet “Living With The Leopards” that lists out practical tips to minimize danger to ourselves.  The leaflet is of utmost utility for the residents of North Mumbai suburbs adjacent to the Sanjay Gandhi National Park area, where incidents of leopard entering housing colonies are frequently reported.  

    Practical Ways to Live With Leopards and Minimize Danger to Ourselves

·    Recognize that leopards are the residents of the area and mere sighting does not translate into danger.

·     Leopards do not recognize our kind of boundaries, forest areas and housing colonies.

·         Ensure that children are supervised by adults, especially after dark

·      Do not move about alone after dark.  If necessary, play music on your mobile phones to allow leopards to realize that there are humans around.  Leopards are sensitive enough to avoid contact with humans and do their best to avoid us.

·      If a leopard is sighted, give it right of way and allow it to move off peacefully.

·     If a leopard is sighted, do not form a crowd around it.  Mob behavior will cause the animal to panic and possibly harm someone in its effort to escape.

·     Ensure effective garbage disposal and keep the dogs indoors.

·  The Forest Department is the sole authority to deal with any leopard related incident. Promptly call the control room

Source: PIB