The agile and stealthy predator-leopard-has become a permanent inhabitant of Sukhna Wildlife Sanctuary.
The ongoing survey conducted by UT Forest department and Avian Habitat and Wetland Society (AWHS) in the Sanctuary has ascertained the permanent presence of the feral predators in the forest area.The Sanctuary which has a large herbivore population was a predator-free forest area earlier.
The survey teams conducting the year-long study on avian species of the Sanctuary have found full imprints of leopard pugmarks in the Sanctuary in the last five months.
The survey which commenced in the month of December last year has found the pugmarks of leopard suggesting permanent presence of the big cat in the Sanctuary.
Though the number of leopards in the forest area has not been ascertained, the expert findings indicated that these carnivorous might be staying in the Sanctuary much before the survey had commenced and are now easily surviving in the Sanctuary due to large herbivore count.
last year, the UT forest guards had also sighted three-four leopards in the Sanctuary, but it was believed that the predators were infrequent visitors to the Sanctuary and had come from the adjoining forests areas of Haryana.
While talking to The Pioneer, Narbir Singh, an environment enthusiastic and vice-president of Avian Habitat and Wetland Society said, “During the ongoing survey, the teams have found pugmarks of leopards every month since December. It’s been five months and there are indications that the leopard may have become a permanent inhabitant here due to easy availability of food.”
Narbir, who is a part of survey team said, “The Sanctuary has a huge population of plant-eating animals and the predators have adequate availability of food and water in the Sanctuary.”
The same survey teams had earlier found the pugmark traces of leopards in the year 2010 during the first-ever wildlife census exercise conducted in the Sanctuary.
Since them, the presence of the big cats in the Sanctuary was a mystery.
The substantial evidence on the presence of leopards in the Sanctuary had also sent a ripple of excitement among the trekking enthusiasts and forest officials.
In 2011, with the findings of footprints of leopards in the Sanctuary, the UT Forest and Wildlife department had also put up signages, cautioning the visitors not to foray deep into the natural habitat not only to save themselves from any wild attacks but also to ensure that they do not disturb the tranquility of wildlife.
The city’s Sukhna Wildlife Sanctuary spreading over an area of nearly 25 sq km is a home to large number of animals, birds and mammals species. There are around 150 small and large water bodies in the Sanctuary.
As per the wildlife census, the Sanctuary has nearly 1,031 Sambars and 920 peacocks.
The resident mammalian species are sambar, spotted deer (chital), pangolin (anteater), wildboar, jackal, small Indian civet, jungle cat, porcupine, Hanuman langur, rhesus monkey, Indian hare, common mongoose, Chital and three- striped palm squirrel.