2 prowling leopards and a hyena terrorise residents of Nashik’s Lonkar Mala area

Nashik: A pair of leopards were caught on CCTV camera prowling a residential neighbourhood in Lonkar Mala on Monday night. On Tuesday night, a hyena was caught on tape in the same area. Residents of this quiet neighbourhood, along Jai Bhavani Road in Nashik Road area, are too terrified to even step out at night and want the forest department to address the problem.
Separated from a huge military installation by a compound wall, the Lonkar Mala area has had a continuing leopard problem. However, recently, the sightings have increased.
Though the Jai Bhavani Road has steady movement of vehicles, people living in the area close to the military installation observe a voluntary 9pm curfew because of the possibility of wild animals lurking in the shadows. In particular, the children are not allowed out of the house.
Advocate Nitin Pandit, the vice-president of the city unit of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), said: "We have been asking for night patrolling by forest department personnel in the Lonkar Mala area. A pair of leopards were spotted one night, and a hyena the next. This is too much. This is a continuing problem here. We have been following up on the issue with the forest department. This time around, a cage was promptly set up by the department."
Sandeep Lonkar, a resident, told TOI, "After 9 pm, the residents of Lonkar Mala and the other surrounding areas are ‘caged' while the leopards have a free run. Late at night, when the dogs start barking incessantly, people know that a leopard is in the vicinity. The dogs keep barking and howling as they can smell the wild animals. Some people, who return from work late at night, do so at great personal risk."
Lonkar said this is the third time the CCTV camera on his house captured the leopards and a hyena in a year's time.
Advocate Dnyaneshwar Dawkhar, who resides in the same area, said the administration will only act after an "incident". There must be a concerted effort by the administration as well as the citizens to tackle this problem. "The adjoining military facility is huge. As a result, the wild cats cross over into the residential area in search of prey. Only a few days ago, an 18-year-old boy, who was returning home around 1.30am, came face to face with two leopards. The animals, however, stared straight at him and walked away as they already had caught a prey."
Anil Ahirrao, a forest guard, said that due to the huge military area, the leopards and hyenas constantly come into the human habitat at night. "News spreads only when the animals are spotted. We are in touch with the residents and spread awareness among them," he said
The residents said they also have a WhatsApp group. And whenever they feel a leopard is around, they put it on the group so that those returning home late in the night can be alert.
Nashik: A pair of leopards were caught on CCTV camera prowling a residential neighbourhood in Lonkar Mala on Monday night. On Tuesday night, a hyena was caught on tape in the same area. Residents of this quiet neighbourhood, along Jai Bhavani Road in Nashik Road area, are too terrified to even step out at night and want the forest department to address the problem.
Separated from a huge military installation by a compound wall, the Lonkar Mala area has had a continuing leopard problem. However, recently, the sightings have increased.
Though the Jai Bhavani Road has steady movement of vehicles, people living in the area close to the military installation observe a voluntary 9pm curfew because of the possibility of wild animals lurking in the shadows. In particular, the children are not allowed out of the house.
Advocate Nitin Pandit, the vice-president of the city unit of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), said: "We have been asking for night patrolling by forest department personnel in the Lonkar Mala area. A pair of leopards were spotted one night, and a hyena the next. This is too much. This is a continuing problem here. We have been following up on the issue with the forest department. This time around, a cage was promptly set up by the department."
Sandeep Lonkar, a resident, told TOI, "After 9 pm, the residents of Lonkar Mala and the other surrounding areas are ‘caged' while the leopards have a free run. Late at night, when the dogs start barking incessantly, people know that a leopard is in the vicinity. The dogs keep barking and howling as they can smell the wild animals. Some people, who return from work late at night, do so at great personal risk."
Lonkar said this is the third time the CCTV camera on his house captured the leopards and a hyena in a year's time.
Advocate Dnyaneshwar Dawkhar, who resides in the same area, said the administration will only act after an "incident". There must be a concerted effort by the administration as well as the citizens to tackle this problem. "The adjoining military facility is huge. As a result, the wild cats cross over into the residential area in search of prey. Only a few days ago, an 18-year-old boy, who was returning home around 1.30am, came face to face with two leopards. The animals, however, stared straight at him and walked away as they already had caught a prey."
Anil Ahirrao, a forest guard, said that due to the huge military area, the leopards and hyenas constantly come into the human habitat at night. "News spreads only when the animals are spotted. We are in touch with the residents and spread awareness among them," he said
The residents said they also have a WhatsApp group. And whenever they feel a leopard is around, they put it on the group so that those returning home late in the night can be alert.