NASHIK: Only when local citizens, fire brigade, local police, forest department work jointly, the lives of leopards and other animals will get saved. Vaibhav Bhogale, an office-bearer of Eco-Eco Foundation, appointed as an honorary wildlife warden of the Nashik district, said that only if there is mutual coordination between these systems with the local citizens, it will help in reducing human-leopard conflict.
The revenue and forest departments of the state government recently took note of Bhogle’s love for animals, compassion, and wildlife resuscitation and appointed him as wildlife warden for the Nashik district forest area. The Deshdoot interacted with him on the occasion. Speaking at the occasion, he said that the work, which he was doing before, will now have to be done in a bigger format.
This responsibility has been placed on him with great faith. “Will have to work harder to keep responsibility in mind. The honorary wildlife warden is an important link between the forest department and the general public. The same link will solve the problems of the citizens and the forest department. This responsibility has now shifted from the taluka level to the district level. The scope of work is going to increase,” Bhogale said.
He also said that he is ready to take responsibility with the help of the Nashik forest department. The district has seen an increase in human-leopard conflict in the last five to six years. Leopards are here, living in Nashik for the last hundreds of years. For them, Nashik has abundant hunting, perennial water, a favourable environment, and shelter. Also, Niphad, Darna river basin, Shinde, Palse have sugarcane farms as shelter and water, making it the main area for leopards. “Humans are encroaching on leopard habitat.
Cement forests are getting constructed, so leopards are turning to urban areas. Nashik is originally known as Leopard Capital. Therefore, leopard is not new to Nashik. Currently, the main reason for the increase in human-leopard conflict is the encroachment on their habitat. Understanding leopards will reduce many misconceptions about them”, explained Bhogale.
He added, “The reason for the increase in leopard attacks is the immediate availability of food. Stray dogs are easy prey for leopards. Wherever the dog goes, the leopard goes. Nashik is not a specific area. There are forests and mountains on all four sides. No one can say exactly how many leopards there are in Nashik. Even if it is to be calculated, it will require a huge cost, manpower, modern machinery, at present, it is not possible.” Sugarcane fields have a dense space and are favourable for hideouts.
It is cold, so a large number of leopards and their cubs are found here. “So far, I have rescued more than 30 leopards. This experience will be valuable for me in the future. The team of Nashik forest department is moving towards modernity”, shared Bhogale. Now new modern machinery will also be available. At the same time, patrolling vans of the forest department are visiting different villages every day to educate the people to reduce the leopard-human conflict.
Snake handlers need to watch
A few days ago, at Nandurmadhyameshwar, a person caught a snake after consuming alcohol. The snake bit him while he was handling it. It is also a crime to treat wildlife in such a cruel way under the Wildlife Protection Act. Right now, there are snake handlers in every other corner of the street. There are some government guidelines for catching snakes. They are not followed anywhere.
Roadkill worse than poaching
In the last 11 months, 173 leopards have died in Maharashtra due to road accidents, falling into wells, and hunting. More than 70 leopards have died in the Nashik forest circle till November 2020. The forest department has always appealed for four-wheelers and heavy vehicles to drive at a controlled speed on the roads in the forest area and leopard-prone areas.
