Fox strays into Thane park

THANE: With the city increasingly encroaching on their space, the animals of Yeoor's jungles are spilling out into Thane's urban settlements. If it was a leopard who entered a warehouse a few days ago, it was the turn of a fox on Friday.
The animal was found by early morning joggers near the Nana-Nani park adjoining Ram Ganesh Gadkari Rangayatan here.Their attention was drawn by the loud barks of dogs that had gathered around the animal.
"A close look made us realise that it was a fox. The dogs had perhaps recognised the difference and started barking. The otherwise agile animal was looking helpless and cornered," said Nitin Bhoi, a regular at the lake.
Bhoi, along with Arun Dharve, rescued the fox from the herd of dogs and took it to the premises of the boating club in Masunda lake, where they found a cage to put it in. "It wasn't easy. The fox, once rescued from the dogs, jumped into the lake and we had to bring it back to the shore," said Dharve.
The fox was released in the jungles of Yeoor; it remained the topic of discussion throughout the day.
Contacted, forest officials admitted that wild animals from Yeoor were straying into adjoining residential areas.
Yeoor's jungles boast of a variety of wildlife, including leopards, deer, wild boar, fox, rabbits and rhesus monkey, apart from reptiles and birds. Located within the precincts of Sanjay Gandhi National Park in Thane district, the Yeoor hills are spread over 40 sq km.
A few days ago, a leopard had strolled into the Gokuldaswadi area of Thane from the forest. It had hidden inside a godown after attacking a woman. The forest department had to tranquillise the animal before shifting it.