Amid Rising Attacks, Maharashtra MLA Turns Up As Leopard To Assembly

The winter session of Maharashtra's legislative assembly witnessed an unusual sight on Wednesday when an MLA turned up wearing a leopard costume, complete with an artificial fur coat and a big cat mask.

Sharad Sonawane, who represents the Junnar constituency, chose the costume to draw attention to the increasing number of leopard attacks across Maharashtra. The Shiv Sena MLA said he has been trying to address this crisis for nearly a decade.

"An emergency should be declared for leopard attacks in the state. I have been raising this issue since 2014, but the government has kept ignoring me," Shiv Sena MLA Sonawane said. "Rescue centres should be created, and the leopards should be trapped and kept in the centres."

#WATCH | Nagpur, Maharashtra: Junnar MLA Sharad Sonawane reaches the Assembly wearing leopard print clothes to protest against rising Leopard attacks.

He says, "An emergency should be declared for leopard attacks in the state. I have been raising this issue since 2014, but the… pic.twitter.com/tfUJVC9pam

— ANI (@ANI) December 10, 2025

He added, "In my constituency, 55 people have lost their lives in the last three months due to leopard attacks. I had warned the government about this in the 2014-15 Winter Session."

This comes after a leopard entered a residential neighbourhood in Nagpur city and injured seven people this morning. Wildlife authorities and forest officials responded quickly, sedating the animal before relocating it to safety.

Following the recent incident, Maharashtra's Forest Minister Ganesh Naik visited the injured in Nagpur.

"I met seven patients, and all are out of danger. I hope such incidents will not happen again," Minister Naik said. "That's why we will try to limit leopards within the jungle area. If any leopard accidentally enters residential areas, our forest department will alert residents. We have made arrangements for this."

The minister detailed several initiatives being implemented to reduce such incidents:

Controlled Sterilisation Trial

"We have obtained permission for sterilisation, but only on a very small scale. First, in six months, we will assess its success, and then we will seek approval from the central government to expand the program," he said.

Habitat Improvement

Naik added, "We are also trying to plant trees that those animals feed on, which are themselves prey for leopards, so that leopards are less likely to leave the jungles in search of food."

Technology Deployment

The Maharashtra government has deployed AI-driven sirens that activate whenever a leopard, or even its shadow, is detected.

Ahilyanagar, Pune, and Nashik districts have the highest number of leopard-related incidents.

The state government faces regulatory constraints in addressing the crisis due to the leopard's protected status. The leopard is a Schedule-I animal, which restricts the government when taking steps to reduce attacks on humans. The state has sent a proposal to the Union government to shift the species to Schedule II of the Wildlife Protection Act.