Dealing with leopards : Forest dept embarks on awareness campaign

Dealing with leopards : Forest dept embarks on awareness campaign
Steps taken after increasing incidents of leopard encounter

NASHIK :

Along with the patrolling vehicles in the western division of the forest department, the vehicles of forest rangers and assistant forest rangers are also engaged in spreading  awareness. These vehicles have been fitted with modern horns and Public Announcement Systems (PAS) and are being engaged in creating awareness about leopards and making appeals to the masses. With this, leopard awareness drive has been started in the villages of Nashik circle near Darna river.

The forest department is known to be as important as the other emergency departments, such as the police, municipal corporation, fire brigade, health service; but the forest department is still not considered like wise. Due to changing human lifestyles and deforestation, wildlife-human conflict is now witnesses in urban as well as rural areas.

Whether it is Godavari near the city, Darna river valley or in Dindori or Niphad talukas. Villages in the area appear to be experiencing leopard-human conflict.

unlike other wildlife, leopard lives on the border of forest and human habitation. It has the natural ability to adapt to a habitat like a standing sugarcane crop or near water resources.For some reasons the humans too have been living around such resources.

As a result, leopards are  surviving in Nashik, Niphad, Dindori, Trimbakeshwar, Igatpuri and Sinnar talukas around the sugarcane cultivation, around rivers and nallas. But often this struggle of the leopard for its survivability seems to interfere with human life and we hear of attacks on humans by leopards or at times vice versa. For this, the forest department has undertaken an awareness campaign in the villages along the river Darna and other areas. The effort is to enable live in their own habitats.

Regular patrols and public awareness in villages Currently in Chehdi, Chandgiri, Dasak-Panchak, Nanegaon, Shinde, Palse, Hinganvedhe, Jakhori, Ekalhare, Chadegaon, Deolali Camp, Belatgavhan, Bhagur, Donveda, Lahvit, Pimpalgaon Khamb the number of leopards has increased significantly. Two children were killed in two incidents of leopard-human conflict in Hinganvedha, Donwade village a fortnight ago. Therefore, the patrolling of the forest department are constant in these villages and special sound clips are also being played on the loudspeakers installed on the vehicles.

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