DEHRADUN: Before the killing of the leopard in Kotdwar on Wednesday, a van gujjar woman in Haridwar had also killed a leopard a couple of days ago. Activists said that if leopards are killed by people in the name of self defence, it will become a regular phenomenon. They added that leopards usually live on the fringes of human habitation and sometimes stray into human areas to prey upon cattle and dogs. Villagers should instead be encouraged to drive the animals into the jungle or inform the forest dept so that they can trap them, rather than resorting to killing the animal.
Activist of People for Animals, Aditya Sharma said, "It is not possible for a single woman to kill the leopard as has been projected in the Chidiyapur range of Haridwar division. It is a conspiracy whereby the forest department is trying to hide the fact that leopard was killed by gujjars in lieu of some money. The vote bank politics is also playing role in the matter." He said, he is going to take up the matter to the forest minister and principal chief conservator of forests.
Rajender Aggarwal, activist of Wildlife Protection Society of India said, "If the animals are not allowed to venture in the forest, which is their home then where would they go. These gujjars have illegally set up their huts in the reserve forest, so they must be removed." he said.
Another activist said that the gujjars normally do not have doors so it is easy for any animal to get inside. He said, instead of killing that two year old leopard, who usually accompanies mother at this age and would have strayed towards the gujjar area, he should have been allowed to escape out.
According to Titoo Joseph, director WPSI, some 119 leopards were killed in 2013 which include seizure of 44 skins, 34 natural deaths and 7 poaching incidents.
However as per official data with the forest department, some 560 leopards have died of natural deaths and 258 from accidents from year 2000-2015. As many as 139 leopards were declared man-eater from 2006 to March 2016.
The Wildlife Institute of India while conducting estimation of tigers in foot hill areas, also captured presence of 700 leopards in the state in year 2014, but the estimation results at middle Himalayas which was conducted by the forest department has not been declared so far. The data through convention methods of pug marks/scats etc of year 2008 mark presence of 2335 leopards in the state.
In the month of January this year, the biggest seizure of seven leopard skins was made in PauriGarhwal.
Around four leopards which were declared man-eater , have been shot by authorized shooters and atleast six human were killed by leopards in the state this year.
