THANE, MAHARASHTRA: A one year old pet dog was killed by a leopard and her cub that entered an independent bungalow in the suburbs of Thane district in Maharashtra. The 42 kilogram Rottweiler named Coco, was dragged out of the kennel inside the premises near the driveway, and taken away by the leopard.
The remains of Coco were found a few days later inside the Sanjay Gandhi National Park. The mother leopard is seen stealthily staring and approaching the kennel. Coco had broken the door of his kennel a few days ago while trying to catch fireflies at night.
One year old Rottweiler's remains were found inside the park two days later.
What happens next is not on the footage as the cat moved into the darkness and out of the frame. "The leopard dragged Coco out of the kennel and took our dog away from behind the house and then into the forest," Aarti Gupta, Coco's owner explained showing the animal's pug marks on the nearly eight feet high compound wall. The leopard's cub can be seen strolling around, finally leaving the bungalow at around 3 am.
The leopard dragged the dog out of the kennel near the driveway.
Ms Gupta and her family claim that they searched for Coco for two days, thinking that the dog would have wandered away somewhere. "We just checked the CCTV and were shocked to see leopards which could come in as there was no fencing around the forest," she said.
Search party followed the leopard's pug marks to trace the remains of Coco.
Forest officials say the man-animal conflict persists, as pets are easy prey for animals near the park as the concept of a buffer zone between the national park and human settlements is long lost. Thousands of buildings have come up around the forest over the past decades.