Leopard attacks fifth victim in Mumbai's Aarey
A leopard on Friday attacked and injured a twelve-year-old boy while he was coming back with his friends from Mumbai's Aarey pump house. This is the fifth incident of a leopard attack in the last five months. Authorities have reportedly set up two cages to trap the leopard and expect that it will be trapped within the next few days.
Twelve-year-old Aarey resident Aniket Dileep Page was attacked by a leopard near the Aarey pump house at Film City around 5.30pm on Friday. This is the fifth incident of a leopard attack at Aarey over the past five months. The forest department set up two cages on Thursday at two separate locations ? near Film City and at the Aarey helipad ? to trap the leopard. After Friday?s incident, another trap cage will be set up on Saturday morning.According to the forest department, Page, a resident of Maroshipada, was injured on the back of his neck and on his thighs. ?Page and five other teenagers were headed to the pump house to wash their clothes. On their way back, as his friends walked ahead, Page bent down to scratch his leg,? said Sameer Inamdar, forest officer, Mumbai range. ?Suddenly, the leopard leaped and got a hold of him. The other boys shouted loudly and this startled the leopard, which left Page and ran off.?READ: One leopard behind attacks on four children in Mumbai?s Aarey Colony? Experts think soPage was rushed to Hindu Hruday Samrat Balasaheb Thackeray Trauma Care Municipal Hospital at Jogeshwari. ?Doctors said he is out of danger. He got nine stitches and has been kept under observation till Saturday,? said Inamdar. The incident comes less than a week after two-year-old Vihaan Nilesh Garuda, the son a Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) staffer Nilesh Garuda, was attacked and killed by the same leopard close to Film City. On May 29, a four-year-old boy, a resident of Royal Palms in Aarey Colony, Goregaon, was attacked by a leopard. On March 17, a three-year-old boy was attacked near Khadakpada.Forest department officials said even after increasing the patrolling in the area, the attacks were taking place. ?We have activated the two trap cages and expect the leopard should be trapped within the next few days. It?s roaming around the trap cage but refusing to enter it,? said Santosh Kank, range forest officer, Mumbai forest range. He added another trap cage will be installed near the pump house. ?We have understood its route and laid food at the trap cage to lure it,? said Kank, adding they had images of the animal after setting up 15 camera traps and studying its rosette pattern.