30-acre shelter for captured leopards, rescued animals

On the fringes of the Sanjay Gandhi National Park, the rescue centre will
treat and rehabilitate the animals

Anumeha Yadav

Mumbai, November 3: FOR the 7-8 leopards kept in cages at the Sanjay Gandhi
National Park (SGNP) since their capture three years ago after a rash of
attacks on people in the area, and for birds, reptiles, monkeys and bears
that are rescued from illegal trade or saved from cruelty elsewhere, there
will soon be a new home.

A rescue centre to treat and rehabilitate them is being built across 30
acres on the periphery of SGNP. The Central Zoo Authority (CZA) will release
half of the total funds of Rs 44 lakh in the next 15 days

Work for setting up enclosures with huge feeding and retiring cubicles that
meet international and CZA norms, and adequate quarantine and treatment
facilities will begin thereafter.

"We are finalising the designs but work can begin once we get the funds,"
said P N Munde, Director SGNP. "We will start with the leopard enclosures
and take about a year to complete the entire project for other animals and
birds," he said.

One of the main aims of this centre is to rehabilitate the leopards that
were captured from the fringes of the 103 sq km-SGNP in the last 3-4 years.
Encroachments along the park's borders combined with an increase in the
leopard population saw 74 people killed in leopard attacks between 2002 and
2004.

Several leopards were captured and kept in old, empty lion cages with
inadequate space near Krishnanagari Upvan on the park's periphery. Some have
since been shifted to zoological parks in Ahmedabad and Gwalior and some
were released into the wild, but 7-8 old and injured leopards remain in
these cages.

"Maharashtra has a serious human-animal conflict, this centre will help take
care of animals which have suffered because of the increasing pressure of
human activities in and around Mumbai as well as other areas of the state
too," said B R Sharma, Member Secretary, CZA.

"There is a dire need for such a facility for other animals and reptiles
too, international expertise must be roped in for providing the best
rehabilitation and treatment facilities," said Anuradha Sawhney, Chief
Functionary, PETA.

Since the centre is for animals undergoing treatment and rehabilitation, it
will not be open for public viewing.



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