Concern is growing in Pune, India, after multiple reported leopard sightings near the Bavdhan and Pashan areas — a reminder that dangerous human-wildlife encounters can spike when expanding cities overlap with shrinking habitat.

What's happening?

According to The Free Press Journal, residents reported seeing a leopard around midnight on NDA Pashan Main Road near D Palace Restaurant in Bavdhan. 

Officials with Maharashtra's forest department confirmed the sighting before a search began with support from the rescue group RESQ.

Soon after, another sighting was reported near a forest garden on Pashan Road shortly after midnight on December 1. 

As a precaution, the garden was temporarily closed, and officials began putting up camera traps. One resident told the Free Press Journal that "around 10 cameras have been installed" near a natural corridor connecting green patches in the region.

Why was the leopard sighting concerning?

Large predators don't typically "target" people — but close, surprise encounters become more likely when development pushes deeper into wildlife territory and animals move along the remaining green corridors in search of water, prey, or shelter.

Researchers and wildlife experts have also linked rising conflict risk to resource shortages driven by rising global temperatures and habitat loss, which can funnel animals into human-dominated areas and increase the likelihood of dangerous encounters for both people and wildlife.

What can be done to prevent human-wildlife encounters?

In Pune, forest officials and rescue teams monitored the area with camera traps and restricted access to spots where sightings were reported.

On the community side, practical steps can help reduce risk: avoid walking alone after dark near corridors, keep pets leashed, improve outdoor lighting, and secure trash or food waste that could attract prey animals (and, by extension, predators). 

In the longer term, supporting local efforts to protect and restore habitat can reduce the pressure that drives wildlife into neighborhoods. 

A good starting point is to join or support a local group working on coexistence and habitat protection.

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