The leopards need their spots

With no project to take care of the shrinking habitat of leopards in Hamirpur, the animals are attacking villagers and being forced to come out into urban areas, reports Vibhor Mohan

IN the twilight times of dusk and dawn, people living on the fringes of forests in district Hamirpur fear to tread out. The threat of a leopard on the prowl in the village is too dangerous to ignore. As it is, leopards are known to be well-camouflaged, silent and stealthy stalkers.

Home to a population of more than 30 leopards, the precipitous slopes of Hamirpur, which consists of mostly scrub area, make an ideal habitat for leopards. And the growing human intrusion into the big cat’s domain is often met with fierce attacks, which experts say are more by way of defence of a frightened leopard, than aimed at making a kill, as generally perceived.

With no specific project aimed at saving the leopard habitat in Hamirpur and Sundernagar area of Mandi, the wildlife authorities are faced with the tricky job of defending attacks by leopards on locals by calling them stray incidents.

In the Toni Devi area of Hamirpur, locals have now started carrying sticks and rods while going out in the night, as leopards have become a common sight. Rajesh Kumar, a shopkeeper in the area, says, "Stories of leopards on the prowl echo in every lane. All explanations why leopard attacks have become so frequent make no sense to someone who has lost his children or cattle to a leopard. The authorities need to take the problem more seriously."

More than 22 per cent of the total area in Hamirpur is under forest cover. Besides, large chunks of private forests in the district are preferred hunting grounds for leopards, which preys on herbivorous animals, including monkeys.

There have been increasing reports of leopards mauling innocent children and attacking pet dogs and cattle in the villages. This has now prompted the wildlife department to put half-a-dozen traps outside villages where leopards are known to frequent.

And it’s not just the government agencies, which are laying the traps. The year started with reports of a two-year-old male leopard being caught in a trap laid by some miscreants. A crowd of over a thousand villagers descended on the scene, asking the wildlife officials to immediately kill the leopard as it had turned a man-eater.

"It is a rare possibility that a leopard starts killing humans for food. In most cases it happens when a leopard is incapacitated, either due to some severe injury or old age. Otherwise, leopard is a very shy animal, who would prefer to avoid human presence. It turns hostile only if it feels threatened. This usually happens when people raise their arms or start attacking a leopard when suddenly faced with one," says Sanjay Sood, Divisional Forest Officer, Hamirpur.

Wildlife experts add that the problem has arisen due to a massive increase in population of leopards. As per the 2004 census, there were 785 of them in Himachal Pradesh. The decreasing vegetation undercover and growing population of stray dogs in the settlements close to forest areas are have also contributed to the increasing instances of leopard-human conflicts.

The subject is being studied by the Wildlife Institute of India and the recommendations of the report would definitely offer some lasting solutions, says Surinder Kumar Guleria, Divisional Forest Officer (Wildlife), Hamirpur.

He also blamed the locals for unnecessarily pressing the panic button on sighting a leopard. Humans and leopards have long lived in harmony in the area. But these days the moment a leopard is seen, humans attack it and the wildlife teams have to rush to tranquilise it and shift to a zoo, he says.

This is no solution as the zoos in the state are already overburdened with over 40 leopards in captivity. While a leopard lives for 15 years in the wild, its life span is prolonged to upto 35 years in captivity. Even if the animal recovers, it is not advisable to send it back to his habitat as adaptation becomes difficult,’ he adds.

HOME