At least 30 leopard pelts have been seized in the State this year and it is believed that most of these big cats were killed as a result of the escalating human-leopard conflict in Uttarakhand.
Inspite of the alarming situation, the State Forest Department has done little more than remain in the reactionary mode instead of taking effective measures to mitigate this conflict.
There have been scores of human-leopard conflict cases in different parts of the State this year and at least three leopards have been killed after being declared man-eaters.
Recently, a leopard killed a teenager in the Chandmari area not far from the Raj Bhawan and Chief Minister’s residence in Dehradun. Though the Forest Department had placed cages in the area, the leopard has not been caught yet though it has been sighted a couple of times.
According to the Wildlife Protection Society of India (WPSI) programme manager Tito Joseph, the guidelines issued by the Ministry of Environment and Forests in 2011 for human-leopard conflict management should be implemented effectively by the States.
“In this age, attacks on humans by leopards evoke strong reaction from the public and information technology helps disseminate information about such incidents within a short span of time.
Often the negative sentiments towards wildlife resulting from such conflict scenarios spread fast so effective implementation of the MoEF guidelines should be ensured to mitigate the conflict,” he said.
Wildlife activists in Uttarakhand said that the Forest Department has failed to effectively implement the MoEF guidelines and has restricted itself to a reactionary mode instead of taking preventive measures.
“The department either places cages or authorises hunters to kill leopards declared man-eaters. It has not facilitated awareness generation and involvement of people, establishment of emergency response mechanism and varied measures for cattle owners to mitigate the conflict as stated in the MoEF guidelines. The PCCF had written to all divisions calling for implementation of these measures but no action has been taken yet,” said a local activist seeking anonymity.
The ex-gratia payment to victims of the conflict has not been made swift and hassle free yet by the authorities who have done little to mitigate the human-leopard conflict in Uttarakhand which is exerting an increasingly detrimental effect on both leopards and humans in the State.