Number of leopards in Sanjay Gandhi National Park rises to 41

The number of leopards in the Sanjay Gandhi National Park here has increased to 41, up from 35 in 2015, a report submitted to the Forest Department said.
The study, titled Monitoring density and movement of leopards within Sanjay Gandhi National Park and along its periphery, was undertaken by the SGNP and wildlife expert Nikit Surve.
Camera traps, footprints and visual sightings were used during the leoprad count, Surve said. The survey was conducted using 49 cameras, he added.
The Sanjay Gandhi National Park, formerly Borivali National Park, is located in the northern part of Mumbai.
Of the 41 leopards, 14 leopards were matched with the database recorded in 2015, and six matched with the 2011 database, he said.

This means several leopards have found sufficient prey and security inside the national park, a forest official said.

In the last year, there have been some incidents of leopards attacking stray dogs in residential areas on the fringes of the Park, the official said.
"Wild animals do not understand man-made boundaries and this is clearly evident in the case leopards of SGNP who venture out in search of easy prey," the official said.
"Around 140 sq km area was covered in the survey. We divided the Park into two blocks, where the first block had 24 camera traps and the second had 25," Surve said.