Tackle root cause of man-animal confrontation
The appearance of a leopard last week in an industrial city like Meerut expectedly generated a public spectacle, garnering much attention in the international media even. But such incidents are neither particularly uncommon in urban areas nor are they a recent phenomenon in India or abroad. Yet, we have no idea how best to deal with such conflicts. Surely the tamasha in Meerut cannot be the standard response. For instance, it should have been common sense that chasing a leopard around town with sticks would only agitate the frightened animal further. Clearly, neither the forest officials nor the civic authorities, who also called in the Army, were prepared to handle the situation. And the media, obsessed with exclusives and driven by the insatiable 24/7 news cycle, fared no better.
Flashing camera lights in the leopard's face — when it is clearly trying to hide away from the mob on the street — is not courageous journalism but foolish and insensitive behaviour that endangers the animal as much as it threatens the welfare of humans in the surrounding areas. Thankfully, no one was seriously hurt: The leopard escaped and there were no human casualties. But most instances of human-animal conflict end differently. Often, the animals are brutally killed by a panicky mob while in some cases humans also pay a heavy price. long-term efforts to protect wildlife habitats and save our natural resources must be intensified. Too often, these initiatives fall prey to what some may describe as ‘more pressing’ popular concerns. Hence, there are innumerable instances of the Ministry of Environment and Forests, for instance, relaxing its own rules and norms to pave the way for infrastructure projects.
However, this tug of war between ‘development' and ‘environment', and indeed between man and nature, will not be resolved any time soon. In fact, even as the authorities imposed a curfew in Meerut, one more spotted feline was reportedly on the prowl in another part of Uttar Pradesh, in lakhimpur Kheri district. A few weeks before that, a five year old boy in Chhattisgarh's Ratanpur town was snatched by a leopard, while reports of a big cat sneaking around the densely crowded metropolis that is Mumbai have grabbed headlines as well. And it is not just leopards but tigers, elephants, wolves, crocodiles and a horde of other wild animals that have come in conflict with humans ever since the spread of civilisation threatened natural habitats. Indeed, as far back as the 1920s, there are records by Jim Corbett of how ‘leopard-imposed' curfews in Rudraprayag were “strictly enforced” and “implicitly obeyed”. Over time, as more and more forests and grasslands have been cut down to make way for towns and mines, factories and farms, the situation has only become dire. It will not be too much of a stretch to suggest that in the near future, there will probably be a rise in the number of Meerut and Mumbai-like incidents — precisely why we need to be better prepared.