Vadodara: Leopards are known to be cunning and elusive animals, but the ones lurking around the Ajwa Safari Park of the Vadodara Municipal Corporation ( VMC ) seem to be a cut above. They have evaded capture for over five months now. Leopards have frequented the Ajwa-Nimeta area for years.
The VMC pressed the panic button when leopards managed to enter the enclosures for antelopes and deer last summer. Officially, two attacks on safari park animals have been recorded. The civic body took a slew of measures, including installing CCTV cameras and floodlights in the park.
Vegetation was removed to ensure that the big cats did not have places to hide, and patrolling was intensified to keep them away from the herbivore enclosures. The VMC coordinated with the forest department to try and capture the leopards that attacked the animals in the park. It was believed there were two or three leopards in the area.
Three cage traps have been set near where leopard movements had been reported, but no leopard has been captured. After the monsoon set in, there were no leopard sightings or fresh evidence of their presence in the area. Last week, a leopard began prowling around.
The cage traps are still in place, but the leopard(s) managed to evade capture. "It does go near the baited cages, but moves around and does not enter," said zoo curator Pratyush Patankar. Patankar added that the behaviour of the leopard in question indicates that it had been trapped earlier.
Leopard presence has been .