Dehradun, July 2
As many as 19 persons, all residing within a radius of 20 km, were injured when attacked by a starving leapard last evening. The leopard was finally shot dead.

While the population of tigers in the country is fast dwindling, the fate of leopards, also from the cat family, is even worse. While leopards are being killed by poachers, they have started attacking humans.The frequency of these attacks has increased manifold in the recent past.

Leopards have been attacking residents, including children, not only in the periphery of hill villages but have now come down to bigger cities like Dehradun in the foothills in search of prey.

Desperate, the leopards have begun to attack children and women in broad daylight.

More than 200 children and women have fallen prey to leopards and 786 injured in the past eight years, show government records.

In addition, the wild cats have devoured more than 4,000 cattle- head. More than 50 man-eaters have been killed by hunters requisitioned by the wildlife department in the past eight years.

Desperate for food, most cats turn to domestic animals and end up as man-eaters.

Dr SP Goyal of the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) who has carried out a study on “Man-leopard conflict” in Pauri Garhwal, says:

"Exhaustion of natural prey in the hills has forced the animals to attack humans and domestic cattle."

Poaching and hunting is the main reason for shortage of prey and the situation has worsened. Pauri Garhwal district, which has the highest concentration of ex-servicemen with more than 16,000 licensed guns, is the worst affected.

Nineteen leopards have so far been declared man-eaters and seven of them killed by hunters of the wildlife department. Shrikant Chandola, chief wildlife warden, Uttarakhand, says disturbance of natural habitats of leopards, shortage of small prey and pressure on forests due to population explosion has turned the leopards into man eaters.

Uttarakhand with more than 60 per cent of its land mass under forest, six national parks and six wildlife sanctuaries and the largest population of leopards in the country has become unsafe for the leopards.

The state saw a rapid increase in the number of leopards over the years.

There were only 690 leopards in 1984. the number went up to 1,961 in 2001, to 2,090 in 2003 and 2,100 in 2005. In 2008, their numberstood at 2,343.

The theory that only old and maimed leopards unable to catch prey turn into man-eaters has become obsolete. Most man-eaters killed or caught have been young.

The search for food has forced these animals to enter towns and cities.

There have been more than a dozen incidents in Dehradun alone in the past three years when leopards or their cubs have entered city limits from nearby forests.

The WII study has come out with vital suggestions for the people living in the vicinity of forests. These are special precaution for houses in isolated areas, clearing of bushes close to houses and discouraging people from venturing out in the fields during early morning and evening hours.

Dehradun, July 2
As a maiden effort, captive breeding has been proposed for the hog deer at Corbett National Park.

The small Asian deer resides in grasslands across the plains and foothills and can be seen in the alluvial plains of the Indian subcontinent.

It constitutes an important prey for large carnivores such as tigers and leopards, and hence needs protection.

A three-member Wildlife Institute of India team comprising scientists Sandeep Gupta and Bilal Habeeb visited Corbett and identified sites for creation of enclosures for captive breeding of the ungulate.

“ Some sites have been identified in Dhikala and we are sending our recommendation to Uttarakhand chief wildlfie warden, who will decide on the final site for creating a captive breeding enclosure,” said Sandeep Gupta of the WII.

Sources say the team has zeroed in on Dhikala, Paterpani, Dhila and Hathidangar areas.

The hog deer conservation programme comes amid reports of the deer population dwindling, even at Corbett.

While trying to develop a natural habitat, the breeding in captivity and then leaving the ungulate in the wild is expected to be of immense help in the arrest of their dwindling numbers.

Interestingly, the WII team while identifying a suitable site at Dhikala came across 50 hog deer.

The Institute had undertaken a similar programme at Kanha to conserve the swamp deer. The efforts has begun to show results with a substantial rise in the animal population.

There were days when the native range of hog deer extended from Pakistan in the west to southern Thailand and Vietnam in the east, through northern India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Myanmar.

But it has almost gone extinct in most parts of this range. Today, in India while the Corbett National Park is the western limit for the species, the Nampdapha Tiger Reserve (Namdapha) is the limit in the east.

During a survey in 2002, the distributional range of the hog deer was found severely altered, with populations limited to only a few places within the region.

While there is a lack of awareness on the hog deer, there is no mechanism to monitor its population within the protected areas.

Dehradun, July 2
The sudden demise of ‘pop king’ Michael Jackson in Los Angeles on June 25 has left music lovers all over the world in a state of shock. From his famous ‘moonwalk’ to excellent voice, Jackson, popularly known as ‘Jacko’ has left a void in the world of entertainment.

His death is being mourned worldwide, and Doon is no exception. As soon as his fans heard the news, they flocked to music outlets in search of their favourite albums.

The sudden increase in sales has even surprised shopkeepers, and many have been forced to order more stocks.

Rishi, a salesman at Pratap Music store, said, “Earlier, sale of Jackson’s albums was average, but after his untimely death people of all age groups are thronging our shops. We had 150 CDs and are now only left with a single one. We have placed an order of 200 more.”

“I have always loved MJ, especially for his moon walk,” said Priya, an ardent fan.

Since the death has been the focus of news channels, newspapers, online portals and blogs, people are getting to know more facts about ‘Jacko’, which has also triggered the demand for his albums.

“People are suddenly so aware about him, therefore the demand for CDs has hit the roof. We are selling almost two albums everyday,” said Seema Kaur, floor manager planet M.

However, for those who feel that original CDs worth Rs 300 and above are pretty expensive, downloading from the net or purchasing cheap mp3’s is a better option.

“I have always been into heavy metal and hip hop, but as I respected Jackson for his dancing ability I purchased many of his mp3, which easily suited my budget,” said Rajat, a student. Michael Jackson, who reached an iconic status, remains as mysterious in death as in lifet.

Dehradun, July 2
Uttarakhand police has promoted several cops from the rank of sub-inspectors (Civil Police and Intelligence) to the post of inspector.

Giving this information, senior police officials said that sub-inspector (Civil Police), posted in different parts of the state, who have been promoted inspector (Civil Police) include Balak Ram, Vijay Chander Singh, Puran Singh Bhandari, Kamlesh Namburi, Ganesh Prasad Bauthiyal, Mann Singh Rawat, Baljit Singh Bhakuni, Daani Ram, Prakash Chander Mathpal and Virinder Dutt Uniyal.

Similarly, sub-inspector (Intelligence), posted in various parts of Uttarakhand, promoted to the rank of inspector (Intelligence) include Pratap Singh, Dayakrishan Pandey, Subhash Chander Tyagi, Deepak Singh, Basanti Dhami, Bhayam Dutt Nautiyal, Ajay Kumar Tyagi, Sita Baldiya, Sunita Verma and Vimal Prasad.