Man-leopard conflicts have intensified to the extent that 291 leopards were reported killed in 2010 and another 235 were killed in 2009.
With the leopard population in the country dropping to 11,000, a worried environment minister Jairam Ramesh has shot off a letter to chief ministers asking them to create a trained response team to prevent their extinction as happened in the case of the cheetah.
The guidelines issued stress that leopards, like other large carnivores, are shy of humans and will avoid them in most cases, to prey on dogs and pigs. “Man-leopard conflicts arise when leopards start preying on livestock causing severe economic losses to local communities. This conflict intensifies when these animals turn man-eaters,” the letter to the chief minister states. Recent scientific studies on leopards in human-dominated landscapes show that capture-translocation is an ineffective way of dealing with them since many animals can traverse through densely populated landscapes to reach back to their original territories.
The guidelines therefore suggest a three-pronged strategy to allow trained teams to handle these conflict situations.
A key guideline is to create a primary response team consisting of local community representatives who will secure the area before the arrival of the emergency response team consisting forest department officials and trained veterinary staff.
Another key suggestion is to use the latest technology and scientific know-how to improve the efficacy of capture, handling and translocation whenever required.
The third suggestion is to create awareness amongst local communities and government departments.