Restrictions lead to surge in wildlife sightings in Pune areas

PUNE: Wildlife sightings in city areas have surged over the past year, with animals like Chinkaras, Indian Gaur, rare bird species and aquatic animals being spotted frequently, senior forest department officials confirmed.
It is believed that the animals are roaming out of forest areas adjoining city limits.

Deputy conservator of forest, Pune region, Rahul Patil told TOI that Chinkara sightings have increased near Baramati-Indapur road while Indian Gaurs are now frequently spotted near Paud road and Lonavla city area.
He said that there have been at least four Indian Gaur sightings in the city in the last year, two sightings in Lonavla, one such sighting in Daund and Baramati urban areas.
“A leopard was recently sighted near Vishrantwadi. Relatively less human disturbance in forest areas on account of the drop in tourist activities due to Covid-19 restrictions has caused a significant surge in wildlife sightings in city areas. Subdued human movement, including drop in vehicular traffic, has caused the city to calm down to an extent, giving animals a chance to move about freely. The Indian Gaur in fact is being sighted once every two months, which was a rare occurrence till a year ago,” he said.

Chief conservator of forests for Kolhapur (territorial) region Clement Ben said, “Due to the lockdown, human interference in forest area and its surroundings has been restricted and the animals are free to roam. Since last year’s lockdown, several incidents have been recorded where the wild animals have come out of their habitat in search of food or while roaming.”
He said that a leopard was spotted on the road leading to Pargad fort in April whereas another was spotted near Karad. It was sitting on the Pune-Bangalore National Highway. “Sambar and spotted deers were seen in the month of May in the Chandgad forest region. This was a rare instance, as these animals prefer grassland habitats whereas Chandgad is a rainforest area. A family of four elephants was spotted last week at Gudwale village in Chandgad taluka of Kolhapur district. They may have migrated in search of food,” added Ben.
On June 21, a leopard was found at the ticketing counter of Ajanta Caves at around 2 am on June 21. The big cat, which may have strayed towards the caves in search of prey such as monkeys or dogs, moved into the nearby green patch after a brief stay of around 90 seconds. “The mountain range where the Ajanta and Ellora caves are located is the natural habitat for different wildlife. We should not perceive sighting of leopard or any other creatures as man-animal conflict,” divisional forest officer (Aurangabad) Vijay Satpute said.
Earlier, around mid-March, a tiger was seen in the wildlife habitats situated within Aurangabad district after a gap of around eight decades. Honorary wildlife warden Kishor Pathak said pandemic-related curbs may have made big cat’s journey via Yavatmal, parts of Telangana, Akola, and Hingoli much easier. “Lesser vehicular and restricted public movement saw the tiger reaching Gautala Autramghat wildlife sanctuary,” he said.
(With inputs from Rahul Gayakwad & Prasad Joshi)