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Policy for Human-Leopard Conflict Management in India

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Policy for Human-Leopard Conflict Management in India news from around the world LAURIE MARKER1 and SWarnatara Sivamani2 Status Reports from States Due to increased conflicts between humans Policy for human-leopard and leopards, forest officials were asked to present the current situation of leopards in conflict management in India their regions. Six Chief Wildlife Wardens from the states of Maharashtra (Mr. B. Ma- A national workshop was held 23-24 January 2007 in New Delhi, India to develop zumdar), Gujarat (Mr P. Khanna), Assam (Mr. a pragmatic management policy for human-leopard conflicts in problem areas. The M. C. Malakar), Uttaranchal, (Mr. S. Chan- Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF), Government of India, the Wildlife Trust dola), Himachal Pradesh (Mr. V. Tandon), of India (WTI) and the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) jointly hosted Jammu & Kashmir (Mr. A. K. Srivastava from the workshop. Over 25 participants attended, including scientific experts who have Jammu & Kashmir) gave presentations, each worked with leopards and other carnivores in India and abroad, and Chief Wildlife representing States where human-leopard Wardens and Forest officials from Maharashtra, Gujarat, Assam, Uttaranchal, Himach- conflicts are elevated. The wardens all pre- al Pradesh, and Jammu and Kashmir. Topics of the workshop included status reports sented figures on numbers of human deaths from States, overview of leopard ecology, legal issues of handling the species, and caused by leopards during recent years. Table the formulation of a national policy for human-leopard conflict management. 1 presents annual data reported from six of the regions by State forest officials on human Leopard Panthera pardus management in In- is expensive and is associated with many killed by leopards and leopards killed. The dia is facing many challenges. Leopards have welfare issues. The success of translocation attacks were all occurring in human domi- highly diversified diets and are extremely is under much discussion as there is no avail- nated landscapes as it appears that there is adaptable to various ecological conditions able habitat and emerging data indicate that an increasing occurrence of leopards in these (Daniel 1996, Hayward et al. 2006). This translocation may actually lead to an increase landscapes as well as an increased human versatility allows them to thrive in a broad in serious conficts (Athreya 2006). A thorough encroachment on leopard habitats. Tensions range of habitats, often bordering human review of strategy is therefore required to ad- were reported to be high in areas where at- settlements. In recent years the presence of dress every possible human-leopard conflict tacks occurred, with constant demands for leopards has been increasing in a wide range situation and develop appropriate protocols the Forestry Department to act, which in most of rural and even built-up environments, far for response. cases meant either removing leopards to cap- removed from natural habitats and protected tivity or translocating leopards. Substantial 23 areas. Although leopards have shown a re- Leopard Distribution in India numbers of leopards were also reported as markable ability to live relatively peacefully Leopards are the most widely distributed being killed through retaliatory killings. The close to people, conflicts can and do occur, large felid. In India, leopard are widespread wardens expressed a clear need for a more with leopards killing livestock and in extreme in a range of natural and human-dominated sustainable strategy. cases people. landscapes. Twenty-five of the thirty-five In- Due to fear and anger, many affected persons dian States and Union Territories have con- Global Scientific Community retaliate by injuring and killing leopards (Ka- firmed the presence of leopards. Leopard Researchers and scientific experts from India ranth & Madhusudan 2002) and demanding counts are fraught with uncertainity, but of- and abroad spoke extensively on human-car- that authorities take action. Because Indian ficial data from 16 states indicates that the nivore conflicts in various parts of the world. law prohibits the killing of schedule 1 spe- population is increasing. Similarly, India’s hu- They highlighted, among other things, the cies, responses have been confined to remov- man population grew by 34% between 1991 lack of extensive scientific research on elu- ing the animal to captivity or translocating it and 2001 (Office of Registrar General, India sive, territorial carnivores like the leopard. to a new area. Holding animals in captivity 2007). Vidya Athreya from the Kaati Trust of India, brought up a very important consideration Table 1. Number of humans killed by leopards and leopards killed annually in six for the relocation of wild leopards. Leopards Indian regions (2000 -2007) as presented by State forest officials. are highly territorial animals and when dis- placed, they have a tendency to seek out their Region Victim 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 original territory, which may be hundreds of Gujarat Human - 8 14 20 4 4 - - kilometers away. In this process, the leopard Leopard - 42 37 40 24 25 - - can often run into numerous human-domi- Jammu & Kashmir Human - - - - - - - - nated landscapes and cause more problems Leopard - - - - 1 2 11 3 for which it had previously been caught. The Assam Human - - - - - 0 0 - movements of relocated leopards must be Leopard - - - - - 3 5 - properly monitored so that trends may be Uttaranchal Human 4 40 33 40 45 36 41 0 observed. If relocation causes more problems Leopard 10 92 81 72 53 57 54 4 than it solves, human-leopard conflicts must Maharashta Human - - - - - - - - be resolved in another way. Leopard - - - - 20 9 4 - During relocation, proper procedures must be Himachal Pradesh Human - - - 0 0 0 4 2 used in order to safely trap the leopard and Leopard - - - 14 22 17 14 6 assess its health and future prospects. Dr. CATnews 50 Spring 2009 Marker & Sivamani Aniruddha Belsare, a veterinary officer, spoke nivores must live in human-dominated land- The consensus among scientists and re- on the capture and post-capture manage- scapes as protected areas are too small and searchers involved in large carnivore conser- ment strategies for leopards. He pointed out human presence is even significant within vation is that scientific research must be the many wrong practices carried out today such them. As a conservation strategy, Linnell pro- foundation upon which sound management as foresters not using chemical restraints to posed involving the stakeholders in conser- policies are formed. capture leopards. This procedure not only vation and increasing the dialogue between injures the leopard, but can also put people scientists and wildlife managers in order to Reasons for Conflict in danger. Belsare recommended adequate decrease conflicts. Linnell also discussed the With the current rate of expansion and growth training and exposure to handling wildlife potential for hunting and lethal control of car- of the human population, conflicts with carni- properly. After capturing the animal, it must nivores to be a part of conservation practices. vores are becoming more and more unavoid- be transported securely in a locked cage. He He stressed the need for sustainable hunting able. The conference members discussed var- also recommended microchipping the animal and also using proactive mitigation to control ious reasons for human and leopard conflicts, for identification purposes. conflict situations rather than lethal control. which include habitat disturbance, human Additionally, experts on various other large Laurie Marker, of the Cheetah Conservation behavior and lack of scientific data. carnivores lectured at the conference. Ravi Fund (CCF) in Namibia Africa, presented their In India, there is an increased interface be- Chellam, who has worked with Asiatic lions, work on cheetah conservation in Namibian tween humans and leopards. Leopards are noted the problems these species face while farmlands. CCF has a three tier approach to highly adaptable and can vary their diet (Dan- trying to coexist with people. Asiatic lions are conservation through research, conservation iel 1996, Shukla 2002). In areas where the highly endangered species and are found in and education. The organization has initiated natural prey species have declined, it is not the Gir National Park in Gujarat. A problem of programs such as the use of ancient breeds uncommon for leopards to prey on humans, concern is that 82% of human deaths caused of Livestock Guarding Dogs that live with dogs, cows, goats, and other domestic spe- by the lions are reported outside the park. and protect the livestock. Another program, cies. The economic losses of livestock and These deaths are also reported seasonally, Cheetah Country Beef looks at international human depredation can increase human- with the advent of the monsoons. Chellam consumers buying Namibian beef to support carnivore conflicts (Woodroffe 2000, Treves & discussed the role of science in conserva- farmers through a price premium for good Karanth 2003). tion and the lack of research and monitoring farmers practice that promote nonlethal pred- In addition to its varied diet, the leopard can of large cats in India. He also noted there is ator practices while supporting sustainable live in diverse habitats. Human landscapes 24 a difference between saving individuals of a agriculture, where farmers benefit economi- are changing rapidly to meet the demands species versus conserving populations and cally while not killing predators. Additionally, of the world’s increasing population. In areas maintaining the integrity of habitats. The lat- and most importantly for the Indian situation, of India where the climate and soil are ideal, ter approach will yield long term results. are the CCF training programs. CCF provides people have converted natural habitats into John Linnell and Laurie Marker spoke on practical training programs for a variety of sugarcane fields or tea plantations. These ag- human-animal conflicts in regions other than groups, from professionals in the wildlife ricultural areas provide shelter and cover for India. Linnell is involved in large carnivore field, to rural farmers in pre-arranged top- the leopard.
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