Ahmedabad: The leopard in Sanand could be on the move. Fresh pugmarks have been found some 800m from the spot in Moti Devati village where they were first seen on Monday. The feline may be moving further into the area, probably towards Sanand city, foresters suspect. The forest department on Tuesday stepped up surveillance and set up two more trap cages in the area, taking the total to three.“No kill has been found,” an official said as forest teams continue to scour the area for signs. There were plans to use a thermal drone on Tuesday night to identify the big cat’s exact location and track its movement.Sources said one group of foresters believes the leopard may have already moved out of the Sanand city area, suggesting it was using the area as a temporary shelter. Another group feels the animal may have remained in the vicinity all day on Monday and was moving only after dark, implying the area was its regular resting ground.The fresh pugmarks and the ones found on Monday are the same size — 8-9cm — indicating a subadult around four years old. This means it could be the same leopard, an official said.Forest teams have secured the area and have alerted residents of nearby villages. Officials said leopards can cover considerable distances in a single night, making continued monitoring important as the animal moves through the expanding urban fringe around Shela, Ghuma, Bopal and Sanand.Monday’s sighting of the pugmarks comes less than a month after a leopard was captured on CCTV inside Serendeep Mansions in Shela, 11km from Moti Devati, on the intervening night of July 20 and 21.According to the 2023 census, Gujarat has 2,274 leopards, a 63% increase from 1,395 in 2016.
