Overview
- Construction workers discovered the full-grown male leopard inside a ground-floor flat of an abandoned Aarey building on Thursday morning and alerted police and forest officials.
- Forest department staff, a veterinary officer and local wildlife volunteers reached the scene and shifted the carcass to Sanjay Gandhi National Park for a formal post-mortem.
- Officials identified the animal as S2025-M38, a male leopard first recorded in Aarey in 2025 and last camera-trapped near Unit 15 on September 11, 2026.
- Field teams noted injury marks on the hind legs and face and have proposed a territorial fight with another male as a working hypothesis while the post-mortem and forensic checks are completed.
- The building sits close to containers and makeshift worker housing, a fact that the Thane Forest Department says will shape any follow-up measures to reduce human–wildlife contact and protect local residents.