After an unidentified leopard allegedly killed four humans and injured several others in 10 attacks in the past six months, villagers and their representatives are demanding that the big cat be shot dead as it has become a danger to human life. The forest department on Saturday pressed into service an expert tranquilizer to dart and capture the animal.
The villagers, however, have firmly demanded that the big cat be eliminated.
Hari Mohan of Singatwara village said: “As the wild cat is on the prowl, we cannot go to our fields and take cattle out for grazing.”
“The forest department should kill the animal as this is the only option to save villagers,” Mohan added.
A forest department source said: “Villagers of Singatwara and Nelatalai are demanding that the animal be killed. After the recent attack, when the animal killed an elderly woman, furious villagers refused to cremate the body and demanded elimination of the animal. Following this, the local MP called the chief wildlife warden and forest minister to accept the demand of the villagers.”
As a confidence-building measure, the forest department on Saturday released a leopard’s picture that was captured in a trap camera, suggesting that it was the same animal which was on the prowl. Green activists, on the other hand, insisted that without forensic and DNA tests, the forest department should not tranquilize or eliminate any leopard, whose population is only about 25-30 in the region. “On the basis of camera trap, how can the forest department identify that it’s the same leopard, which is attacking villagers,” asked green activist Anil Roger.
The undulating terrain and valleys in the forest region have become a major challenge for the forest department to capture the animal. Udaipur district forest officer Mukesh Saini said: “Eight cages have been placed in the area but to no avail. After June 29, the leopard was not even captured in the trap camera. Now, we have started a drone survey.”
As per the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) standard operating procedure to declare a big cat ‘dangerous for human life’, the forest department has constituted a committee comprising an NTCA member, a nominee appointed by the chief wildlife warden, a veterinarian and some public representatives. The committee will soon submit its recommendation.
Roger, however, is not happy with the composition of the committee. “To maintain transparency in functioning, the forest department should have kept an animal activist in the committee,” he said.
