Research overview: leopard density inside Sanjay Gandhi National Park, Mumbai

Sanjay Gandhi National Park is a roughly hundred-square-kilometre forest island embedded within metropolitan Mumbai, hosting one of the highest known leopard densities recorded near a megacity. This overview synthesises camera-trap density estimation, individual identification by coat rosettes, and the ecological puzzle of how a viable big-cat population persists at the edge of a city of millions. It covers the role of abundant free-ranging dogs and other anthropogenic prey, the dense human-park interface where attacks occasionally occur, and the management balance between public safety, waste and dog management, and conserving a globally unusual urban predator. It frames open questions about long-term genetic viability and connectivity to outside leopard populations.