7 leopards died in Sanjay Gandhi National Park in 2017-18

The rescue centre at the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) lost as many as seven leopards in the last year, the Central Zoo Authority’s (CZA) Annual Inventory data has revealed. This number is three more than in the previous year. The inventory records are from April 2017 to March 2018.

Dr Shailesh Pethe, veterinarian, SGNP, said most of these wild cats died of old age. “All leopards, except one, died of old age in the past year. Six of them were in the age group of 16 to 19 years and most of them have been at the rescue centre for over 10 years," he added. The average lifespan of a leopard is 12-14 years.

The seventh leopard, who was three-and-a-half years old, died after a wild encounter in the forest. "The seventh leopard died within 36 hours of being rescued from a conflict. She was found in Malad, near a human habitat in an unconscious state. Her ribs were broken in the encounter. We brought her to the rescue centre but she passed away,” Pethe added.

The centre got four new leopards in the past one year. While the one brought from Malad passed away, two cubs, Suraj and Tara, were brought from Ahmednagar in December and have shown healthy growth. The fourth leopard, three-and-ahalf-year-old Regulus, was rescued from Aarey Colony after repeated reports of man-animal conflict.

The number of leopards in the centre has seen a decline over the past three years. While there were 17 leopards at the centre at the beginning of 2016-17, the number came down to 14 by the end of the fiscal year. As of now, there are 11 leopards left, after the seven deaths and the acquisition of four animals.