KEY POINTS:
DELHI - The authorities in India are about to release 47 leopards back into the wild - on the outskirts of Mumbai.
It is happening because Mumbai, India's biggest city, with more than 16 million people, has spread so far it surrounds a national park that was once far from the city limits.
Wild leopards thrived in the untouched jungle of the park, but as the city encroached, the big cats began to stray into the streets, stalk the suburbs and attack and even kill the inhabitants.
In one month, 12 people were mauled to death, among them a 4-year-old girl dragged from outside her home into the jungle. Other victims included a barrister out for an early-morning run and an 18-year-old man killed as he slept outdoors.
Finally the Maharashtra state authorities sent in teams to round up the leopards in 2004. Once they were in captivity, the killings stopped, but the federal environment ministry in Delhi has now ordered their release as protected wild leopards.
In an effort to avoid further deaths, the authorities are resorting to the sort of electronic tagging used for offenders, with an electromagnetic chip implanted in each leopard's tail. So if one does kill again, at least it can be tracked down and recaptured.
- INDEPENDENT
