Monday, October 6, 2014

Autopsy reveals the grisly truth behind death of #BigCat

Autopsy reveals the grisly truth behind death of Big Cat
Post-mortem reveals 2 kg of undigested poison-laced goat meat in the animal's belly; Rivalry between two groups of 'conservationists' is reported to be root cause

As humans we are meant to protect them; to ensure their survival for future generations to marvel at. But if the latest incidents are anything to go by, our petty differences seem to be doing them fatal harm. A project to tie radio collars around the necks of up to 15 leopards is threatening to bare the ugly faultlines between rival groups of conservationists. Caught in the middle as victims, are the Big Cats themselves: two of which have died terrible deaths at the hands of human predators. A third leopard had a miraculous rescue, and all this happened in the one year since the most ambitious conservation project in the state was launched.

It was the autopsy report of the latest leopard death which has revealed the grotesque underbelly of conservation politics centered around the project which covers 26,500 sq km of forest area across five districts of southern Karnataka.

Initially, when the collared leopard was found hanging from a tree two weeks ago, many, including Forest Department personnel, attributed the death to strangulation caused by the radio collaring. But a week later, a detailed autopsy report has given proven the allegation false by revealing that the feline was killed by poisoning.

Turns out the four-year-old Big Cat, found hanging from a tree near Mysore, was fed goat meat laced with zinc phosphide, a toxic ingredient found in rat poison. The autopsy revealed the presence of a couple of kilos of undigested goat meat in the leopard's belly. A shocked Vinay Luthra, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) said, "We really do not know who is doing such things. We believe that people with vested interests are spreading such rumours to spoil the purpose of the project. This is indeed a big project and is based on the Government of India directive to radio collar any animal that comes into conflict with humans at the time of relocation."

The 'rumours' were gaining currency until the autopsy report was released. Conservationists opposed to the project are believed to be behind the reports that the leopard died due to asphyxiation caused by the radio collar.

Luthra, however, admits that his men made mistakes. "It was wrong on the officials' part to release pictures of the leopard as it was being lowered from the tree using a rope. That helped vested interests spread rumours about the death. But the autopsy report has  confirmed the cause of death. A case has been registered and police are investigating," Luthra said.

Supporters of the project note with alarm that the only leopards to be killed recently were the collared ones. The first death was reported immediately after the project began in March 2013. "The autopsy report revealed that the cat was severely beaten by people with rods when the animal was caged, before being released into the wild. Though there were no external injuries, internal wounds were visible during the autopsy. The locals may have jabbed or pierced the animal with rods. The oesophagus and throat had holes," said Sanjay Gubbi of the Nature Conservation Foundation, who has been spearheading the radio collaring project.

Sanjay was caught on the back-foot over reports pointing fingers at the radio collar after the most recent leopard death. "The collar per se could not have caused the death as there was sufficient space between the neck and collar. I had shared my doubts with Forest officials during the mahazar (inspection note) as the tongue had turned blue. Now the autopsy report confirms poisoning."

Sanjay is not without enemies in the conservation movement. While serving as the State Wildlife Board Member, he opposed several mini-hydel projects in-and-around the Hassan-Sakleshpur area, incurring the wrath of many people.

It was only last month that another collared leopard was rescued from the verge of death and relocated to Bannerghatta . "It is unfortunate that only collared leopards are found dead. In one case the collar showed no movement and we believed the animal was dead. But when tracked, the collar was found to have fallen off from the animal. The science behind the project is sound. Those who have problems with the project can talk to us," Luthra said.

After every reported death, anonymous RTI applications pile up with the Forest Department, fuelling suspicions about the motives.

"Every month about 50 to 60 RTIs are being filed on the project, questioning the death, location, technology behind the project, misuse of collars, etc. Almost all applications look similar and are written in the same format. Every detail about the project — from the rescue of leopards to their release into the wild with collars — has been documented. The whereabouts of the animals are updated with the department by researchers on almost a daily basis. We are not hiding anything ," a senior Forest official said.

The five-year-long project was kicked off last year following frequent incidents of leopard-human conflict. Its objective is to study the animal's behaviour and movements to take better decisions and reduce the conflict. Bangalore and Bangalore Rural districts witnessed the highest number of leopard intrusions.

The Big Cats were sighted by many apartment-dwellers on the outskirts of the city in areas like Yelahanka, Bannerghatta and Sarjapur. Luthra said, "So far five leopards have been collared . We are collecting good data about leopard behaviour."

All the collars used are US-made. "As and when they rescue a leopard, Forest Department officials alert us to collar the cat. Accordingly, we collar the animal and record the entire procedure. They are made as per international standards and weigh only 1.5 percent of the body weight of the animal (300 to 450 gm).

"The collars are programmed to function for six months and fall off automatically after the battery expires. Until then the transponder present in the collar provides updates through satellite and we monitor the animals using GPS locations. We inform forest officials on SMS and email about the animal movement. When animals get into water, slush, mud, hide beneath rocks or inside caves, then our volunteers personally go in search of the animal in the wild, scouting for signals through the VHF antenna," Sanjay said.

"Every day, we update nine locations of the animals. The cost of each collar ranges from Rs2 to 2.5 lakh and we pay $30 as monthly rent for using satellite services. Besides, we have to pay 30 cents to get details about each location in a day," Sanjay said. 
 

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