A recent study by the Wildlife Conservation Society
(WCS) India Program on human-leopard interactions in India calls for a
shift in management focus, from current reactive practices such as
removal and translocation of leopards, to proactive measures that ensure
safety of human lives, livelihoods, their property, enhance people’s
acceptance of wildlife outside protected areas, and expand potential
habitat for threatened species.
The study published in
Plos One
, the peer-reviewed open access scientific journal, on November 10 was
conducted by Vidya Athreya, Arjun Srivathsa, Mahi Puri, Krithi K.
Karant, N. Samba Kumar, and K. Ullas Karanth.
Sample study area
The
Western Ghats forests of Karnataka were chosen as the sample study
area. “While the role of protected areas is critical, these cats despite
their preference for intact forest habitats can thrive outside
protected areas, given adequate prey and cover conditions,” the study
says.
According to the study, additional cover and
prey base available in unprotected forests, agro-forests, plantations
and orchards and rocky escarpments do play a crucial role in supporting a
large leopard population outside the designated reserves.
India’s
countryside, in some regions, supports high densities of feral,
semi-feral, free-ranging, and domestic dogs. The findings suggest that
dogs (as prey), rather than livestock, are more important in explaining
leopard presence outside forests. Dogs constitute around 40 per cent of
the biomass in leopard diet in a human-use landscape.
In
contrast, other felids like Asiatic lions and tigers prey substantially
on livestock in human-use areas. Although smaller livestock species
like goat and sheep do contribute to leopard diet it is likely that they
are better protected by their owners, as compared to domestic or
free-ranging dogs.
“Translocation of leopards merely
after a sighting appears to be lowering people’s traditional
socio-cultural tolerance of leopard presence, in the absence of any
attacks. In the long run, such lowering of acceptance of wildlife in
shared spaces would lead to a decline in potential leopard habitats and
population recovery of a threatened species that has suffered massive
contraction of its global range,” the study says.
The
study suggests that livestock losses could be mitigated with measures
that focus on assisting farmers in better husbandry practices, issuing
prompt and just compensation for losses, and awareness on the
distribution patterns of leopards in human-use landscapes.
Source :- The Hindu, 26-Nov-2015
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