India is said to be fighting to protect its endangered animals for several decades, but despite strict laws protecting the animals, the country has witnessed multiple cases of poaching and animal deaths in recent past.?
In the case of leopards, India recorded 331, 339, 440, 431 and 460 deaths between 2014 and 2018. In the year 2018, there was a record 460 leopard deaths in India, which places it at the highest recorded leopard deaths during the same period throughout the world. In fact, the northern state of Uttarakhand reportedly tops this chart with 93 deaths, followed by Maharashtra at 90.?
Now, an over two-week-long struggle of the forest department team to find leads about an alleged man-eater leopard in Rudraprayag has finally yielded result. The photograph of the leopard suspected for killing at least two people was captured in a camera trap in the jungle near Saurakhal village.
FILE PHOTO. BCCL
The Statesman reported that after the feline had killed two villagers, the forest department began intense search operation in the affected area from 9 November onwards.
However, the team did not succeed in registering any sighting and locating pugmarks of the feline in the over two week-long operation.?
?Ą°We fixed camera trap near the site where the calf was killed and a leopard was captured feasting on the kill on Friday night. We will be conducting search operation on that site now,Ąą said specialized shooter Lakhapat Rawat.
The leopard made the first kill on 6 November and the second two days later to terrorize Saurakhal, Basi and other nearby villages. The leopard was declared Ą°a man-eaterĄą by forest department and specialized shooters were invited to gun down the dangerous feline.?
REPRESENTATIONAL IMAGE. AFP
There were also several cages installed in different parts of the area. When the operation team failed to track the man-eater, the forest department launched a special campaign in the affected villages.
Rudraprayag forestĄ¯s sub-divisional officer Mahipal Singh Sirohi said that they had launched awareness programme in different schools in the affected area. Under the programme, they made the students aware of the measures to take to avoid Ą°man-animal conflict.Ąą
Under the awareness programme the school students are advised to stay inside their home from 6-8 p.m, to move in groups, to wear masks on the backside of their head, to clear weeds from their homes, etc. The forest department has so far conducted such programmes at six schools in Saurakhal, Timni, Chauriya, Dhaunda, etc villages.
REPRESENTATIONAL IMAGE. BCCL
After getting the camera trap photograph the forest department team will now be monitoring the movement and behaviour of the leopard. The team has now intensified the search operation to find the man-eater leopard.
Growing conflicts and accidents are among the major causes for leopard deaths in India. Poaching, human-animal conflicts and road accidents have led to rapid increase in destruction of wildlife habitats.?