Surat: Forest dept to start grey junglefowl breeding centre

Notably, sighting of leopards in human habitats have increased in the last few years. This can be attributed to deforestation and lack of prey in forest areas. The leopards travel long distances in search of food and water and ends up in such areas on the outskirts of villages.

Sugarcane is grown on a large scale in Surat and south Gujarat, and sugarcane fields are good places for leopards to hide and give birth. The leopards come out from the fields during the night and attack cattle tied in the backyard of houses in the village, and at times, they come into direct conflict with humans and attack them.

With the rise in the incidents of human-animal conflict, the forest department has also conducted a study and found that there is not much prey in the dense forest area, and that is the reason behind the migration of the big cats.

Sources in the Surat forest department said that there are over 100 leopards found in different talukas in the district — most found in Mangrol and Mandvi talukas.

It was for the first time that a leopard was spotted on the outskirts of Surat city in Bhata village during the night a couple of days ago. The residents learned about it through CCTV footage and later reported it to the forest department. Two cages had been installed at different locations to catch the leopard.

Working on the issue of lack of prey for leopards, the Surat forest department started a spotted deer breeding centre in the North Mandvi range in the district last year. Over 30 pairs of spotted deer were brought to the breeding centre, which has CCTV cameras and forest staff for their safety. Once they grow into adults, they can be released in the deep jungles, said Surat forest department officials.

Sharing details about the upcoming breeding centre in Mandvi, Surat Deputy Conservator of Forest, Dheeraj Kumar, said: “We are putting all efforts to reduce the human-animal conflict in Surat district. First, we set up a spotted leopard breeding centre in the Mandvi North range last year, and now we are starting the grey junglefowl breeding centre in South Mandvi range. We will procure 31 pairs of grey junglefowl and breed them. We will provide them with food, water, and other facilities, and once the chickens turn adults, we will release them in a safe enclosed area where they will be habitual to survive. After some time, we will release those adults into the deep forest area. The purpose is arrange prey for leopards in the forest area so that they don’t migrate to human habitats.”

”We have also made 35 water enclosures in different areas in deep forest areas in the district so that the big cats can quench their thirst. There are natural water locations as well, but it dries up after some time. In our water enclosures, we have installed CCTV cameras so that once the water dries up, we can refill. We are also seeing good progress in the spotted deer breeding centre. The release is yet to be done. We will release adult deer in a safe release location, and once it is habitual to survive on its own, we will release it in the deep forest areas. Once we start releasing the grey junglefowl and adult spotted deer in the forest area, the leopards will get their prey, and it will prevent their migration in human habitat areas,” he added.