NASHIK: While the forest department is warning citizens with a focus on public awareness as the human-leopard conflict escalates, the struggle of leopards for their lives is on the rise as the process of identifying a leopard that is dangerous to human life is not being completed. Three of the male leopards trapped during the human-leopard conflict at Darna basin are still in captivity.
The test results confirmed that the leopard that is dangerous to human life is an adult male. A similar fate is expected for the leopards which were trapped in Igatpuri, and they too may face life imprisonment. This is because the two leopards trapped in Igatpuri have not yet been ordered to be released into their natural habitat, and a decision will be taken only after a laboratory report is received.
In Igatpuri taluka, there has been an increase in human leopard conflict for the last four months. An investigation is underway to verify whether the leopards have become cannibals after the death of four people in a leopard attack. According to the report, the trapped leopards, the adult male on November 24 and the female leopard on 1st December are still in the cage. Notably, no orders have been received regarding the release of leopards, and they have not been sent to any National Park.
Samples of saliva and blood from leopards and those killed in the attack have been sent to a laboratory in Hyderabad. A similar process was used to identify cannibalistic leopards during the Darna valley incident. However, the forest department decided to keep three of the 11 leopards permanently in captivity, explaining that it was not clear which of the leopard has cannibalistic characteristics.
Discussions are going on in the department itself regarding the same recurrence in the case of leopards in Igatpuri. Therefore, wildlife lovers have speculated that the ‘cannibal drama’ may have started in Igatpuri just like Darna valley.
