Gaurav Bisht, Hindustan Times Shimla, October 17, 2014
In a first of its kind initiative, the wildlife wing of the
Himachal forest department will conduct a census to assess the
population of leopards in the state. The predatory big cats will be
radio collared to study their movements, activities and hunting
behaviour and identify human-leopard conflict zones. “We plan to put radio collars around the leopards’ necks. Each radio collar costs about
Rs. lakh,” said nodal wildlife officer Satpal Dhiman. “Like human behavior that of leopards has to be studied. The big cats
wandering in the vicinity of the state capital are not predatory while
those found in Bilaspur, Rampur and Mandi district are more aggressive “
said Lalit Mohan, principal chief conservator of forests, who is also
the state’s chief wildlife warden. “Genetics and hormones play an
important role in the behaviour of leopards,” he added.
Addressing
participants at an interactive workshop on understanding human-leopard
interaction, Mohan said: “The wildlife department will now undertake a
survey to assess the leopard population in the state. The last census
was conducted in 2005 and currently we don’t know the exact number of
leopards in Himachal Pradesh. The workshop was organized jointly
organized by the Ruffor Foundation Wildlife Conservation Society in
collaboration with the wildlife wing of the Himachal forest department.
Mohan focused on finding long term solutions to reduce conflict
between leopards and humans. “During the past one decade leopards have
killed at least 30 people in the state, besides injuring 332 residents,
94 of whom sustained serious injuries. The wildlife wing has so far paid
Rs. 72.21 lakh in compensation to the family members of those who were killed and injured in leopard attacks,” he stated.
Noted wildlife biologist Dr Vida Lathery, who has worked on leopards
outside protected areas for over a decade, underlined the need to
understand what he called the complex issue of the human-leopard
conflict in order to mitigate it. “The declining prey base in the
leopards’ habitat has forced them to prowl for prey in human habitation.
Caging or killing a leopard isn’t a solution. Human encroachment on
leopard territory is one of the factors leading to conflict with them,”
she said.
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