Following the death of two leopards in different incidents apparently due to inefficiency of Forest Department personnel, activists have requested the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) member secretary for a probe into these two deaths and an explanation from the department on the condition of leopards in the State.
In a letter to NTCA member secretary Dr Rajesh Gopal, People for Animals, Uttarakhand has pointed out that a leopardess brought to Chidiyapur rescue center in Haridwar Forest Division from Pauri, was confined in a small cage for 21 days, where she repeatedly hit her head on the railings and suffered serious injuries which led to her death earlier this month while the department remained inactive.
“Not a single vet was informed and even the disposal of the dead animal was deliberately conducted with secrecy without photographing any evidence of fresh injuries or taking action against negligent staff or officers. On March 20 another leopardess was caught in a clutch wire trap at Tanakpur in Haldwani forest division.
The information of the trapped leopard was given to the Haldwani divisional forest officer by the villagers at 8 pm but neither the DFO nor his team turned up for the rescue. Such was their apathy that though the locals and media persons reached the site, the department staff failed to reach the spot while the leopardess struggled for 12 hours. The department staff reached the site next morning by which time the big cat had died. In an RTI reply they have admitted to having a tranquiliser gun at the division head office but this was not used for rescuing the trapped leopard,” states PFA Uttarakhand member secretary Gauri Maulekhi.
She has requested the NTCA to set up a committee to review these two cases of avoidable leopard deaths. Though more than 70 leopard deaths a year a reported in Uttarakhand, this number could be in the hundreds, she opined, while also requesting the NTCA to seek an explanation from the Uttarakhand forest department regarding the way in which the leopard population is being treated and measures taken, if any, to improve the prey base and the habitat of leopards.