Wild Mumbai: Flamingos, Leopards and the Mangroves

Mumbai’s wild side, from the flamingos of the Thane Creek Flamingo Sanctuary, a Ramsar wetland since 2022, to the leopards of Sanjay Gandhi National Park and the mangroves of the Mithi river, with a directory of the parks and gardens in our guide. Facts from the Mangrove Cell and Forest Department of Maharashtra, the park itself and the Wildlife Conservation Society–India.

Mumbai is one of the most crowded cities on earth, and one of the wildest. Thousands of flamingos feed on the mudflats of Thane Creek, within sight of the city’s towers; mangroves line its creeks and rivers; and in the forested hills of Sanjay Gandhi National Park, on the northern edge of the city, leopards live alongside millions of neighbours.

Seeing them takes a little planning, the help of the park and mangrove authorities, and patience. Go early, go with a guide, and keep a respectful distance.

Few cities of this size share their forests with leopards, or their creeks with thousands of flamingos.

The flamingos of Thane Creek

The Thane Creek Flamingo Sanctuary became a Ramsar wetland of international importance on 15 August 2022, and covers about 6,500 hectares of creek, mudflat and mangrove, managed by the Mangrove Cell of the Government of Maharashtra. Thousands of flamingos visit each year; the Mangrove Cell and Maharashtra Tourism give different months for the peak, so check with the Mangrove Cell before you go.

In the middle of the city, Maharashtra Nature Park in Mahim was created to teach people about conservation. It stands on a former garbage dump, now a largely man-made forest, bordered by the mangroves of the Mithi river.

A national park inside the city

Sanjay Gandhi National Park’s main gate is on the Western Express Highway in Borivali. Its forested hills hold streams, lakes and, deep inside, the Buddhist caves of Kanheri. All activities except Gandhi Tekdi and the Kanheri Caves are closed on Mondays and from 1.30pm to 2.30pm, and boating runs from 9am to 5.30pm; Maharashtra Tourism suggests visiting between June and February.

Back in the south of the city, Veermata Jijabai Bhosale Udyan in Byculla, with its zoo, is open from 9am to 6pm on all working days except Wednesday, and the Hanging Gardens on Malabar Hill look out over the city and the sea.

Feature: the leopards of Sanjay Gandhi National Park

Leopards live in the forests of Sanjay Gandhi National Park and in the green land around it, and they are watched closely. From February to June 2024, the Wildlife Conservation Society–India and the Maharashtra Forest Department set camera traps at 90 locations across the park, the Aarey Milk Colony and the Tungareshwar Wildlife Sanctuary. You are unlikely to see one on a day visit: leopards are shy and mostly active at night, so keep to the paths, stay with your group and never walk the forest edges after dark.

Did you know? The 2024 camera-trap survey identified 54 leopards in and around the park, a remarkable number for a forest ringed by one of the world’s great cities.

Our advice

Our advice: check the flamingo season with the Mangrove Cell before you go, and take binoculars; visit Sanjay Gandhi National Park early in the day, any day but Monday, and keep to the paths. Never feed monkeys or other animals, and take your rubbish home.