Thane: Two days after a leopard strayed into a residential society along the dense Manpada locality, a team of animal welfare volunteers launched a search operation on Friday to rule out the possibility of the big cat lurking in the vicinity of the dense residential area and the adjoining huge deserted industrial premises.Activists and forest department officials said there was no reason for residents to panic, as the presence of the leopard or any wild animal in the area was considered normal. Importantly, there have been no man-animal encounters in the last several years. However, following the Wednesday sighting that led to a community dog being injured, activists said they did not want to take any chances to risk human or animal lives. “We found some old pug marks in the industrial area in the vicinity, indicating the presence of the cat for the last few days. It is normal for the animal to be prowling in the area as part of its territory. We are scanning all possible areas and looking for any marks to confirm if it is still moving around in the vicinity or may have left for the jungle,” said Rohit Mohite, member of the Wildlife Welfare Association. Meanwhile, a team of forest officials led by RFO Narendra Muthe held an awareness camp for residents of the plush localities late Thursday, updating them on how to respond if they encounter a wild animal. “We are monitoring the situation and have installed cameras to trap the movement of the leopard in the vicinity,” said Muthe, clarifying that the feline wasn’t spotted in the area over the next two days.
