Leopard on the prowl at IIT Bombay

Leopards are not generally spotted during the day. However, as IIT Bombay is located close to the Sanjay Gandhi National Park there are chances of sightings in the day too, said a forest official. 

A leopard was allegedly spotted on the campus of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay in Powai and the forest department was alerted, a forest official said.  

A distress call was made to the forest department and a team was sent to the spot to investigate if the sighting was of concern, the official said, The Tribune reported. 

Leopards are generally nocturnal. Sightings during the day are not very common. However, as IIT Bombay is located close to the Sanjay Gandhi National Park there are chances of sightings in the day too. Moreover, with the drop in temperature in the last 48 hours and the cold wave alert, leopards can be spotted during the day, he said. 

Students, staff asked not to panic 

“Our teams are investigating and initiating all necessary actions, we appeal to students, staff and IIT management and other citizens not to panic," the official said, urging people to report any wildlife distress incident to the forest department's control room number 1926.  

Recently, a leopard was spotted at IIT Kanpur. A security guard spotted the wild cat near the institute’s airstrip. Two tigers were also spotted on the Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology (MANIT) campus in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, in October 2022. The institute was closed for some days for safety reasons. While one tiger was caught and released in the Satpura Tiger Reserve in Narmadapuram, the other left the campus on its own. The institute had installed 16 cameras and kept around 50 personnel to keep a watch on the wild cats. The institute had also conducted drills to tackle emergencies on the campus. 

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