Delhi: Leopard Cub Found Dead In Alipur On NH44, Big Cat Spotted In Sainik Farms Still Elusive

The body of a leopard cub was recovered from the National Highway 44 near the Khatushyam temple in outer-north Delhi's Alipur in the early hours of Wednesday.

According to the police, it appeared to be a case of a road accident.

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What police said

"Prima facie, it appeared to be a case of traffic accident. The body has been taken into custody, and the Forest Department informed for further necessary action," a police official said.

It is unclear if this was the same leopard that was spotted in South Delhi's Sainik Farms area last week.

Where is the leopard spotted in Sainik Farms?

Police said forest officials would check if this is the same animal that has evaded capture for nearly a week.

The forest department had put up trap cages to capture the animal, but with no success.

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Earlier, forest officials had said that the leopard could have gone back to the Aravalli forests.

Some residents have claimed that they spotted a leopard in Mukmelpur village located in Alipur two days ago, the official added.

How many leopards are there in Delhi?

The status of leopards in Delhi has been a highly debated one. According to a 2022 report, at least eight leopards were in the Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary, which is close to the Sainik Farm.

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There have been reports of leopard sightings in Asola Bhatti for the past few years, but their presence was only confirmed last year. In January this year, the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) had released a video showing a leopard cub emerging from a burrow inside the sanctuary.

This was the first documented leopard cub in Asola Bhatti and is believed to have been born there.

How Asola Bhatti became home to leopards

Though the leopard presence has been established in Asola Bhatti, it is still debatable whether the big cats are residents or just transiting through the forest.

Asola Bhatti is the southern part of the Delhi Ridge, the northernmost stretch of the ancient Aravalli range, which begins in Gujarat and extends across Rajasthan and Haryana, entering Delhi at Gurgaon.

Asola Bhatti is also part of the Sariska-Delhi Wildlife Corridor, which runs from the Sariska Tiger Reserve in Rajasthan to the Delhi Ridge. Leopard movements from Rajasthan to Delhi have been traced on this corridor. This movement has led to several cases of roadkill on Gurugram-Faridabad highway as well as on the Eastern-Peripheral Expressway.

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Last week, the Delhi High Court had restrained Delhi government from organising the proposed walkathon-cyclothon event in Asola Bhati Wildlife Sanctuary till further orders saying that the permission for the event was granted without analysing the threat perception to the people as the area is frequented by the leopards.

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