Two leopards “Savitri” and “Maharaja” that were radio-collared and released in the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) in Mumbai last month have started sending interesting data on their movements, including their ‘parikrama’ of the Tulsi Lake and a walk to Tungareshwar Wildlife Sanctuary (TWS).
While a female leopard L115, aged around three named Savitri, was radio collared and released on the southern area of SGNP on February 20, a male leopard L 93, aged between 6 and 8 years named Maharaja was radio collared on the northern periphery of the sprawling national park on February 22.
Located in the metropolitan limits, the SNGP has the highest leopard density. It is home to 45-odd leopards, making it the highest leopard density across the globe.
“Savitri” and “Maharaja” are the first two leopards that have been radio-collared under the GPS telemetry project being implemented at SNGP to study behavioural patterns of leopards at the SNGP. Three more leopards will be radio-collared by this end of this year.
Under the project, the forest authorities use radio collars that communicate via satellite to understand leopards inhabiting the SNGP and surrounding areas to “understand them better”, a thing that will come in handy in preparing better conservation models for their protection.
The data gathered by the forest through the GPS telemetry has revealed that on one occasion, Savitri started at 7.30 pm in the morning and did a ‘parikrama’ of the Tulsi Lake covering a distance of 4.57 kms in 11 hours.
The male leopard Maharaja walked three times from SGNP to Tungareshwar Wildlife Sanctuary (TWS) crossing the busy Chinchoti-Bhiwandi highway and also Vasai-Diva railway line. He walked around 62 km in 6days where it covered 8 km during day time (7am to 7pm) and 54 km during night time (7pm to 7am).
“Maharaja only lives inside the forested landscape but has moved between two different Protected Areas - SGNP and TWS - crossing the road and railway line. Savitri uses both SGNP and Thane Territorial Division areas indicating our man-made boundaries are not relevant to the animals. Therefore any mitigation measures have to involve not only wildlife but territorial divisions as well. Both rest in the day and move in the night,” the study states.
Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forest Sunil Limaye, SGNP Field Director and Chief Conservator of Forest G Mallikarjuna, senior scientist Dr Vidya Athreya and researcher Nikit Surve, both from Wildlife Conservation Society-India, have shared the data with the media.
Undertaken in collaboration with Wildlife Conservation Society - India and Wildlife Conservation Trust, the GPS telemetry project is being supported by Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies (RNP) and the Reliance Foundation.
The SGNP-TWS-Thane Territorial Division is a green lung of Mumbai – and leopards move in the night and cross roads, railway lines and streams.
In the past there have been several instances of leopards getting killed while crossing the busy Mumbai-Ahmedabad highway and on the roads surrounding Sanjay Gandhi National park including Thane’s Ghodbunder Road and also at Aarey milk Colony at Goregaon in north Mumbai.