Less than a month after a leopard was caught on CCTV at Serendeep Mansions in Shela, fresh pugmarks found 11km away in Moti Devati village, Sanand, have provided physical evidence of leopard movement in the area.Villagers found the pugmarks on Monday and alerted the forest department. A forest team reached the spot and examined the footprints, which measured about 8-9cm. Deputy conservator of forests Meenal Jani said the department immediately secured the area. “The pugmarks indicate the presence of a leopard. The animal appears to be a subadult of about three to four years,” she said.The discovery also triggered rumours among villagers that the leopard may have been accompanied by cubs. Forest officials, however, said there was no evidence to support the claim. Sources said two other footprints found nearby appeared to resemble those of smaller animals, but officials ruled out the possibility that they were pugmarks of leopard cubs.The latest finding assumes significance given its proximity to Serendeep Mansions, where a leopard was seen on the intervening night of July 20-21. CCTV caught the animal moving inside the residential premises, and residents also reported seeing it on a road near the society’s entrance. Forest teams later searched the area and deployed cages and thermal drones but found nothing. Rumours of leopard sightings had also surfaced from Chandkheda and near Karnavati Club, but officials found those claims to be hoaxes.The fresh pugmarks at Moti Devati have now given officials their first confirmed evidence of leopard movement in the broader Shela-Sanand landscape. The forest department has isolated the spot, alerted residents of nearby villages and deployed teams to monitor the animal’s movement.The development has renewed concerns over leopards moving through the expanding urban fringe around Shela, Ghuma and Bopal. Officials said leopards could cover considerable distances in a single night, making it possible for them to move towards more densely populated areas.Leopard sightings have previously been reported from Sanand and other areas on the city’s outskirts. In June 2024, a video purportedly showing a leopard near Kalhaar Blues and Greens in Sanand raised concern among residents, but forest teams found no pugmarks, scat or other physical evidence to confirm the sighting.Gujarat’s leopard population has also risen substantially. The 2023 census recorded 2,274 leopards in the state, up 63% from 1,395 in 2016. Forest officials said surveillance would continue in the Moti Devati-Shela belt to track the animal and protect residents.
