People living in and around Royal Palms, Goregaon claim to have spotted leopards frequently in their area. In fact, a watchman, who works in the area, has spotted leopards at least five times in the last one month.
Royal Palms’ Filter Pada region is located next to Aarey Milk Colony, which witnesses a lot of leopard movement as it is connected with Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP).
“A week or two ago, when I was out for a walk, I was surprised to see two leopards sitting together on the wall of a locked bungalow. As it was a good moment, I captured it on my camera,” said Steven van Dortmond, who was visiting a friend in Royal Palms.
Another eyewitness, a watchman, seconded the spotting of leopards. “At night, we see these animals running behind their catch — mostly dogs. As we fear that they could attack us too, we prefer walking around in groups,” he said.
Rajesh Sanap, a volunteer, who is part of the project “Mumbaikars for SGNP,” to study man-animal conflict, said, “I personally visited the location after the complaints, and found that it is the same leopard that was found moving in Aarey Milk Colony. This movement is normal, considering Aarey Milk Colony is just a stone’s throw away from Royal Palms.”