A leopard was reportedly spotted by two cleanliness workers about 100m from Akshardham in Gandhinagar on Wednesday morning, sparking panic in the area. This is the second sighting of the wild feline in the state capital in five days.
Last Friday night, a police constable with Sachivalaya had reported seeing a leopard near Sanskruti Kunj, closer to the ravines. The animal was reportedly seen walking towards Sarita Udhyan.
However, corroborative evidence such as pugmarks, excreta or a kill has yet not been discovered by the forest department which has been scanning CCTV footage of the area.
HS Singh, an expert on big cats, said, “Growing population of leopards and rapid urbanisation are the reasons why we see the felines coming closer to cities in search of prey. There have been leopard sightings in almost all the big cities. These animals must be entering the capital from the forest area near Dharoi dam.”
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