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A video of a leopard walking in a walled courtyard of a house in Mumbai’s Aarey Colony Sunday went viral. The video, which appears to have been taken with a surveillance camera, is dated June 1 and shows the time at 2:43 a.m.
The one-minute, 17-second video was shared on Twitter by Indian Forest Service officer Susanta Nanda. Soon Nanda’s tweet went viral and the video garnered over 1.6 lakh views.
Commenting on the video, one Twitter user wrote, “The original forest cover of the Aarey Colony and surrounding areas have shrunk over the past 50 years due to the emergence of industrial units, residential buildings, hotels, etc. affecting wildlife.”
The original residents of the Aaray colony in Mumbai went for a walk last night pic.twitter.com/tahXBhVzpC
— Susanta Nanda IFS (@susantananda3) July 1, 2022
When humans start stealing forests, it’s natural for animals to forage for food everywhere. We are the ones who disturb the natural order.
— KAVIRAJ PATIL (@patil_kaviraj) July 2, 2022
Perhaps this could be one of the last videos of these lovely residents, carefree strolling in their natural habitat once the subway carriage shed takes over?
— Pappu (@PappuSh51568941) July 2, 2022
& there are still people who don’t believe #Aarey houses wildlife. It would be interesting to see how many of them are willing to go for a walk in this forest at night. In fact, there are some who even debate whether Aarey is a forest!! #SaveForest to #SaveSoil
— Prasad (@PledgeGren) July 2, 2022
After 9:00 p.m., people avoid going to Aaray Colony as it is customary
— 🇮🇳Susheel ਸੁਸ਼ੀਲ (@Susheelmumbai) July 1, 2022
Sad to see what urbanization has done to these living. Soon it will be killed for wandering around its once own quarters
— Heaven (@umarbaia) July 2, 2022
We humans invade their homes…it’s not their fault they visit their homes…
— Anushkasushil (@Anushkasushil1) July 2, 2022
Sorry to say, but they are not native to the Aarey Colony. I have stayed in an aarey colony since the 60’s and roamed freely at odd hours but have seen them very rarely. Mostly used to see jackels. Now they are frequently sighted because of the easy availability of food, dogs, chickens, etc
— MVL (@LOHARKARMV) July 1, 2022
I’m probably wondering who took over what used to be ours. We humans encroached on their territory, invaded the jungle in the name of progress, that required deforestation… and now we’re facing the results.
— Rina Ghose (@GhoseRina) July 2, 2022
The Aarey Colony’s original forest area and surrounding areas have shrunk over the past 50 years as industrial units, residential buildings, hotels, etc. have sprung up, affecting wildlife.
— Balakrishnan KK (@KKBALAKRISHNAN) July 3, 2022
Leopards have been frequently sighted near and around the Aarey Colony. Last month, A leopard strayed into a school in Mumbai’s Goregaonwhich is located near the colony of Aarey, and was rescued in a joint action by the forest service and the police.
This latest leopard sighting also comes after new Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s decision to move the construction of the Colaba-Bandra-SEEPZ underground car shed near Aarey Forest. Activists believe that any large-scale development in the Aarey Forest will harm the natural environment and the area’s rich wildlife.
Declared a reserve forest in 2019, the 800-hectare Aarey Forest is said to be home to nearly 290 species of wildlife.