Increase In Leopard Population And Attacks Is Concerning But Sterilisation Isn't A Fitting Solution
The past few years have seen an increase in human-leopard conflicts in many states across India, with consequences on both sides.
States like Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, and Maharashtra, the top three regarding leopard populations, have seen their numbers go up in recent years.?
Too many leopards in our forests?
According to the latest official figures, Madhya Pradesh has the highest number of leopards in India (3,421), followed by Karnataka (1783) and Maharashtra (1690).
Other leopard habitats have also recorded an increase in the wild cat population.?
Leopards have also been increasingly seen in urban areas, not just close to the peripheries of the forests, including cities like Delhi-NCR, Bengaluru and Mumbai.
States want to control leopard population?
As leopard attacks increase, some states have proposed to limit their population by sterilising them.
Recently, Gujarat sought the Union government's permission to sterilise leopards to control their population.
According to the state government data, 27 people were killed in leopard attacks in 2021-2022.?
There are reports that Maharashtra has also raised a similar demand with the Central government.
In Maharashtra's Chandrapur alone, nine people were killed in attacks by leopards in 2022, state Forest Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar had said.
Conservationists disagree?
As the calls to sterilise leopards to control their population grows, Vidya Athreya, an expert on big cats, opines that it is problematic and not a solution.?
"It is a bad idea. There is no way that you can sterilise 100 per cent of the leopard population. The more food there is, the more females will continue to produce more cubs, and the population will continue to grow," Athreya told Indiatimes.
Reason behind increasing leopard population
According to her, good waste management is the long-term solution to the problem of feral dogs as well as wild carnivores near human settlements.?
"Availability of food is directly related to the rise in leopard population. As we throw away our garbage, including food waste, in the open, it attracts stray dogs, pigs, cats and rats. Leopards feed on these, and since food is plentiful, the females will produce more cubs, and more of them will survive," she explained.
Capture could make leopards hostile?
She also said that the leopard must be captured and kept in close contact with people for sterilisation. It is likely to make the big cat more hostile towards humans.
"It will only increase the human-leopard conflict. What we should keep in mind is that we are dealing with a large animal that is capable of killing a human being. If it is captured, sterilised and released back, it is likely to affect their behaviour. Our studies have shown that the more you translocate them, the more you increase the chance of human attacks by leopards," she said.
How to reduce human-leopard-conflicts
Along with waste management, Athreya said that there should be a multi-pronged approach to reduce human-leopard conflicts.
"The Forest and other departments should be prepared proactively with better rescue teams. The Police should be better trained to control crowds. The veterinary department should be trained to handle leopard emergencies better. The governments should also proactively work on ex-gratia for livestock loss due to leopard attacks,"?she?said.
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