For certain Maharashtrians, co-existing peacefully with leopards has become a reality now. Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) is a large protected area located in northern part of Mumbai, measuring a massive 104 square kilometres.

  The park houses not only animals like deer, monkeys, hyenas and antelopes but also has a healthy population of leopards. Initially, the leopards stayed within the bounds of the park but as the areas around the park began to be developed, more buildings came up and currently, there is a single boundary wall that divides the park from human settlements.

   While this wall works well to keep humans from straying into the park and wild animals away from human dwellings, it fails miserably to keep the leopards within its park limits. With their talent for climbing trees, these leopards even climb and jump over the boundary wall and prowl among the residential buildings in search of prey. The cause of worry,....