For months, residents of Jagatpur village in north Delhi spoke of a mysterious animal prowling near the Yamuna Biodiversity Park. Their claims were finally confirmed on Sunday night when a leopard was captured on a camera trap at 10:27 PM.
The device was set up by wildlife enthusiast Hemant Garg after repeated reports from locals, turning speculation into fact and sparking fresh concern about wildlife presence in urban spaces.
Leopard Spotted Roaming Near Delhi’s Yamuna Biodiversity Park
“I was here for birding last month when villagers told me they’d seen what looked like a leopard. They even showed me pugmarks,” said Garg, 41, who had earlier documented the Indian grey wolf in Palla — the first such sighting in Delhi since the 1940s. Encouraged by the villagers’ reports, Garg set up a trap camera on Sunday. That very night, the leopard was caught on film.
In response to the confirmed sighting, Delhi’s forest and wildlife department has dispatched a team to search for pugmarks and other signs of the animal’s movements. A senior official said, “Though no one officially informed us, once we saw the footage, we deployed a team for surveillance.”
Leopard sightings in this region aren’t new. In 2023, a male leopard entered the same village and injured eight people. Later, locals managed to trap it inside a house. It was eventually rescued by wildlife officials. Similarly, in 2016, another leopard was seen multiple times at the Yamuna Biodiversity Park before being caged and moved.
Locals, Wildlife Experts Confirm Presence After Camera Trap Capture
Mehfooz Ali, a 65-year-old farmer whose land lies just 50 meters from the camera trap, said, “I’ve seen the animal four times since January. We knew it was a leopard but had no proof. Now we want better security in the area.”
The Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary in south Delhi recorded eight leopards in its 2022 census. Officials believe that number has now grown to 12. Other recent leopard sightings include one in Sainik Farms in December 2023.
Faiyaz Khudsar, a scientist heading DDA’s Biodiversity Parks, noted, “The Yamuna floodplains have always supported both prey and predator species. The river corridor allows movement, which explains these sightings.”