Aurangabad, June 21:
Sensation prevailed in the vicinity of Ajanta Caves after a wildlife animal was spotted moving at the foothills of the heritage site, in the vicinity of Archaeological Survey of India's (ASI, Aurangabad Circle) ticket window, on the intervening night of Friday and Saturday (between 2 am and 2.30 am). The videos went viral on social media as its caption stated that a tiger was spotted at the site. Hence a debate, as well as confusion, triggered whether it was tiger or leopard since the past two days. Meanwhile, the forest officials and experts put all the speculations to rest clarifying that the wildlife animal is a leopard.
The acting deputy conservator (forest) Arun Patil said, " The SDM Sillod has forwarded the videos alerting to look into the matter. I went through the clippings and found that it is a leopard, not a tiger. The tiger is not agile. It does not jump in speed. Both of them belong to a big cat family, but the tiger is a very lazy animal. In the video, the wildlife animal is seen jumping from a fence and also moving around actively. I also got it confirmed from the range forest officer (RFO). Today, he has sent a team in the morning to locate the animal through the lens."
Patil added, " There are plenty of like blackbucks, dogs, monkeys, etc which are the prey of leopard. As a result, the movement of leopards is common in this hilly vicinity. Moreover, the surrounding place of the caves is also a natural habitat of the wildlife animals."
Elaborates a wildlife expert Dilip Yardi," I have viewed the video clippings on the big screen and after going through the physique, height, tail, and spots on the body it is apparent that it is a leopard. The black strips of a tiger could be seen clearly from a faraway distance. However, the style of the leopard's walking (chal) resembles the tiger. This is paving way for the confusion."
Spotted on Saturday wee hours
The Archaeological Survey of India (Aurangabad Circle) has installed CCTV cameras to keep an eye on the cave complex and surroundings. The leopard was moving in the vicinity for the past few days. Hence it was a topic of discussion. As a preventive measure, we viewed the CCTV footage and spotted the movement on Saturday morning. Accordingly, we alerted our officials and the forest officials concerned. The first video is of 19 seconds and the second video is of more than one minute. There are ASI staff and security personnel on night duty, but they were indoors and are safe.
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The monument Ajanta Caves along with other heritage sites were closed got re-opened on June 17 after three long months. The absence of human being's movement is enough to turn the surrounding into a haven for the leopards and other wildlife animals. Meanwhile, the ASI and forest officials have appealed to the visitors not to stray into the surrounding area of the caves complex as it may turn risky for them. The visitors should leave the site as soon as possible after seeing the caves, it is learnt.