MUMBAI: “I will carry the scars on my face for life; but I will not let the pain dictate it,” said Anjali Tak, 23, seated beside her mother Bharati, 48, in the family’s one bedroom apartment in Parijat Society, Bhayandar West, her face cross-crossed by silicone bandages.
Anjali is one of the seven people who were severely injured in a leopard attack on December 19, 2025. The big cat walked into the housing society at 7 am, climbed up the first floor of one of the buildings to enter the Tak residence through the rear balcony. Anjali, asleep on a mat on the floor of the bedroom at the time, woke up hearing noises from below. In the blink of an eye, the leopard entered the room to attack her, Bharati and Anjali’s 19-year-old sister Khushi. While Khushi and Bharati escaped, Anjali was overpowered by the animal and eventually pulled away from its clutches with the help of neighbours. The leopard entered the bathroom where it was locked up, tranquilised by officials from the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) later, and eventually released in the park.
Rampant urbanisation and human encroachment on the periphery of SGNP and the Thane Creek Flamingo Sanctuary – both wildlife habitats — have led to instances of man-animal conflict. According to SGNP, several leopards have territories for prey along the periphery of the park, which often extend into the urban areas of Mumbai and Thane. A study of leopard scat in 2015 found that domestic prey contributed 43% of the leopard’s diet in SGNP, while stray dogs (in urban settlements) accounted for 24%. Episodes of intense conflict between leopards and people peaked in the late ’90s and early 2000s.
More recently, episodes of human-leopard conflicts were reported in Uttar, in Bhayandar East in 2023; in 2024 a male leopard caused panic around Vasai fort; while earlier this month, a leopard was caught on CCTV hunting a stray dog inside a residential society in Mulund.
Adjusting the bandages on her face, Anjali displays a rare empathy when she is told that the animal that attacked her had died in the park earlier this month, and investigations are on to ascertain what led to the death. “Poor thing; I know the leopard was hungry and scared, and could not find its way out,” said Anjali.
Touching her face, she continued: “It has been a traumatic and difficult journey for me and my family. I have a long way ahead for recovery but I will not let the incident dampen my spirit.”
She will however always remember the chaotic few minutes when she was engaged in a fight with the animal from the wild. “I was asleep on the floor and within seconds found something pounce on me. I thought it was a dog but soon realised that it was a leopard tearing through my skin,” said Anjali, a graduate in finance and accounts. “I was conscious and aware when I was rescued and brought down on a stretcher through the window. I saw my blood splattered across the room and felt excruciating pain,” she said.
She suffered severe injuries to her face, the left eyebrow, eyelid, nose, upper jaw and lips. She was immediately rushed to KEM Hospital, where she underwent six surgeries, including skin grafting. She was hospitalised for over 30 days.
“After skin grafting and other surgeries, I feared my right eye may be permanently damaged, because I could not close it due to the injury on the eyelid. Thankfully, my eyesight is unharmed. The leopard took care not to damage my nose or eyes,” she said.
Anjali, who was engaged to be married in January, has been advised rest at home for six months. She said her wedding was postponed because of the attack. “I cannot step out for six months but the recovery may take longer. I know I will have to carry these scars lifelong,” said Anjali, who often finds herself jolted when she hears the slightest commotion outside her home.
“Even now, when I hear people fighting or loud noises, I get scared assuming a traumatic incident may have occurred. I am trying to put it all behind me with the help of my family,” she said.