At a time when the human-leopard conflict in Uttarakhand appears to show no signs of abating, experts are stressing on the need for effective implementation of guidelines of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) for tackling such conflicts.
Recently, on October 4, government licensed hunters shot dead a leopard believed to be a man-eater in the Pithoragarh district. On Monday night another leopard believed to be a man-eater was killed in this area by licensed hunters. These two big cats are believed to have been responsible for killing more than a dozen people in the area.
Though skeptics doubt whether the leopards killed were actually man-eaters, they do agree that human-leopard conflict shows no signs of abating in the State. According to the Corbett tiger reserve honourary warden Brijendra Singh, the State needs to effectively implement the NTCA guidelines and also work on developing rescue centres for such problem animals. "We need properly equipped and trained dedicated rapid response teams for effectively addressing the human-leopard conflict.
The department has a rescue centre for leopards at Chidiapur in Haridwar but such centres should also be developed at places like Kalagarh in the Corbett tiger landscape and in the mountainous area. Such centres can then be developed into safari parks where people can view the big cats which will not only help raise awareness, but also generate revenue which could be put to good use.
A big cat that turns to man-eating is not some sort of a devil but a wild animal compelled by circumstances to prey on humans," he said. The NTCA has been addressing the States to orient and build up the capacity of field staff while deploying a few rapid response teams- fully equipped with veterinary facilities to rescue wild animals in distress or those causing distress.
Public outreach programmes, provision of regular and adequate budgetary support towards mitigation of human-wildlife conflict and thorough grounding in the standard operating procedure to deal with emergencies arising due to straying of big cats into human dominated landscapes have also been recommended. However, Uttarakhand has not done much in this direction. The leopard population of the State is estimated to be above 2,000 and factors like dwindling prey base for leopards and expanding human settlements have exacerbated the conflict scenario.