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The forest department has been on its toes in Rajkot since a leopard was seen on the outskirts of the city around three weeks ago. Despite all efforts to cage the animal, the big cat has remained elusive.
“We have been getting information from local residents for the last three weeks about movement of a leopard on the western outskirts of Rajkot. But save one, when one of our staff members saw the leopard crossing a village road, there has been no other direct sightings by our staff. Nonetheless, indirect evidence like pugmarks confirms that a leopard is indeed there,” said Deputy Conservator of Forests (DCF) Tushar Patel from the Rajkot social forestry division.
“We have also recorded deaths of two cattle after being attack by the leopard. However, they were feral cattle and therefore no one has applied for compensation for loss of livestock,” he added.
Last Thursday, media reports suggested a leopard had been sighted near Kalipat village in the eastern outskirts of Rajkor but Patel said that his staff has not been able to verify them. Leopard movement was also reported in Mavdi and Mujka areas of Rajkot a few days ago.
“The big cat has been moving mostly between the western periphery of Rajkot and Kalavad taluka of neighbouring Jamnagar district… While there is no resident leopard population near Rajkot city, this big cat seems to have come from Kalavad side,” said Patel.
The forest department has been trying to rescue the leopard for the past many days. “Given the fact that the leopard has moved too near to a large city like Rajkot and fear it has inspired among people, we have been trying to rescue it,” Patel said.
So far, the department’s efforts to cage the leopard have proven futile. “We have placed five trap cages in different locations. But the leopard has remained elusive… The density of population and disturbance by some overenthusiastic people who are thronging our trap cages and clicking selfies is making the task even more difficult,” said the DCF.
The Rajkot social forestry division set up a control room on January 5 to monitor the leopard’s movement. “As the leopard remains at large, our staff have intensified night patrolling. We have formed four teams that patrol their given areas even at night,” said Patel.
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