Overview
- Five people were injured in Nagaon near Alibag, including three rescuers, and a large search with more than 70 personnel, a tranquilising team and drones is underway.
- Schools and local establishments in affected areas were told to remain closed as residents were urged to stay indoors and avoid forested stretches while the leopard remains untraced.
- Forest Minister Ganesh Naik instructed officials to release goats in forest core areas to boost prey availability and discourage leopards from entering settlements.
- The state has asked the Centre to shift leopards from Schedule I to Schedule II and currently has approval only to sterilise five animals on an experimental basis.
- Officials cite habitat shifts into sugarcane fields and declining wild prey and plan fruit-tree planting, additional cages and patrolling, and expanded rescue capacity in Junnar with a new centre proposed in Ahilyanagar.