Of leopards and men; the presence of a lethal predator in Mumbai

Darkness sets over India’s largest city. Of course, a city with a population exceeding 12 million people will never be truly dark. Or silent. Still, in those neighborhoods bordering Sanjay Gandhi National Park the vibrant city center feels far away. In this park the wild part of India is still visible as the densely vegetated forests are inhabited by a range of charismatic animals like the jungle cat, rhesus macaque and chital deer. It is a safe haven for all these creatures.

In the cover of darkness, however, one of the parks inhabitants strays regularly into the densely populated neighborhoods around the parks. Fast, camouflaged and highly lethal, the leopard (Panthera pardus) is a true apex predator. And that predator wanders into Mumbai, a city of millions. While there are more examples of large predators roaming close to densely populated places (Carter & Linnell, 2016), the sheer boldness of leopards seems exceptional. What is happening here, at the intersection of Mumbai and the protected forest?

 

The risks of the leopard

When looking at the awards winning photographs by Indian wildlife photographer Nayan Khanolkar one sees intimate pictures of the leopards stalking through Mumbai’s deserted alleys. Interestingly, the leopards seem at ease. It is known territory. “It’s an urban leopard – one that has grown up around human beings, and adapted to the ecosystem of the city”, Khanolkar explained in an interview with the Hindustan Times (Joshi, 2016). This adaptation brings along dangers to the local population. Newspapers regularly report incidents of humans being attacked by leopards, leading all too often to fatalities (Acharya, 2022). Especially people inhabiting the slums directly bordering the National Park seem to suffer from the presence of leopards as they are prohibited from taking steps to protect their homes and environment. But that is only one side of the coin; leopards are also deeply connected to cultural and religious practices of indigenous groups in Mumbai, showing that the human-leopard relation is not only one of death and danger (Edelblutte et al., 2024).

Health benefits

Then, there is another, rather remarkable, perception on the presence of leopards in Mumbai. In a paper published in 2018, the authors argue that leopards are actually beneficial for the public health (Braczkowsky et al., 2018). Their argument is based on the estimated presence of 96,000 stray dogs in Mumbai. These dogs pose an even bigger threat to humans as they are the prime contributor to rabies transmission to humans, which can be lethal. It is, however, illegal to kill these dogs, so their population can only be maintained by costly sterilization programs operated by the local government. This is where the leopards come in. Domestic dogs comprise the largest part of the leopards diet (Surve et al., 2022) in Mumbai. Therefore a part (the authors estimate 8% or US$18,000) of these costly programs can be relieved simply by letting leopards stroll along Mumbai’s streets, hunting for man’s best friend.

Foe or friend?

Whether the active presence of an apex predator in a densely populated metropole is something to desire, remains to be seen. Nonetheless, it is impressive that such an elusive animal has successfully established a place for itself in what seems to be an incredible harsh environment. The effects of this are far reaching, ranging from politics to health services and from cultural practices to human safety. Whatever the future holds for leopards and humans in Mumbai, for now it clearly shows the delicate balance between humans and the urban wild.

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References

Acharya, P. (2022, November 6). Mumbai: 16-month-old girl killed in leopard attack in Goregaon. The Indian Express. https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/mumbai/mumbai-leopard-attack-aarey-colony-girl-death-8227714/. Retrieved on June 2th 2024.

Braczkowski, A. R., O’Bryan, C. J., Stringer, M. J., Watson, J. E., Possingham, H. P., & Beyer, H. L. (2018). Leopards provide public health benefits in Mumbai, India. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 16(3), 176-182.

Carter, N. H., & Linnell, J. D. (2016). Co-adaptation is key to coexisting with large carnivores. Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 31(8), 575-578.

Edelblutte, É., Short Gianotti, A. G., & Gunnell, Y. (2024). The agency of urban carnivores in human politics: leopards in Mumbai, India. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 22(3), e2702.

Joshi, P. (2016, November 7). Man vs wild: Story behind award-winning leopard image by Mumbai photographer. Hindustan Times. https://www.hindustantimes.com/art-and-culture/man-vs-wild-story-behind-award-winning-leopard-image-by-mumbai-photographer/story-ohZEICSPVxVO4YkMnCo2JO.html. Retrieved on June 2th 2024.

Surve, N. S., Sathyakumar, S., Sankar, K., Jathanna, D., Gupta, V., & Athreya, V. (2022). Leopards in the city: the tale of sanjay Gandhi national park and tungareshwar wildlife sanctuary, two protected areas in and adjacent to Mumbai, India. Frontiers in Conservation Science, 3, 787031.

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Featured photo: © Raja bandi, some rights reserved (CC-BY)