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Journalism of Courage
A leopard in the neighbourhood? No, the citizens of Guwahati do not panic. They call up the state zoo and keep a watch on the cat till the rescue team arrives and takes it away.
Over the past few years, leopards have been pawing their way into Guwahati quite often, counted as it is among the world8217;s cities having the most number of wildlife species. Only earlier this month, residents of Fatasil locality in Guwahati spotted a leopard crouching in a house, behind a heap of broken furniture and building material. The rescue team came after two hours, tranquilised the cat and carried it away to the state zoo.
The capital city8217;s wealth of fauna has also been recorded in Indian Forest Service Officer Manoj V Nair8217;s book, Inside a City Forest. Nair records 24 species of mammals, 173 species of birds, 41 species of herpetofauna snakes and frogs, 40 species of spiders and 227 species of butterflies inside the Assam zoo. Nair is currently deputy director at the Simlipal Tiger Project in Orissa.
8220;Guwahati has a herd of 35 to 40 wild elephants that often come out of the Amchang wildlife sanctuary and create various problems in the Panjabari and Narangi areas,8221; says Narayan Mahanta, divisional forest officer, in charge of the state zoo. Herds of wild elephants moving around is a normal-enough sight at the Narangi army cantonment while students of the Army School often sight capped langurs in the vegetation around.
Such sightings, however, are more of a headache now, says Bhattacharjee. 8220;The leopard adapts fast to different food habits. It can also adjust easily with human settlements. That is why it strays into households and gets caught,8221; says the professor. 8220;Releasing them back in natural habitats is now becoming a problem because of the shrinking habitat,8221; DFO Mahanta adds. 8220;What is worrying us more is that several leopards were also killed in recent years in the city.8221; Nine leopards were captured in different localities since 2004 and shifted to the state zoo while at least ten leopards have been killed in the past three years. 8220;There is tremendous pressure on the hills and forests. There are encroachers who enter the forests to collect firewood, and so on,8221; adds Mahanta.
8220;The government does carry out eviction drives once in a while. But what it lacks is a proper follow-up action. In May 2003, the state forest department evicted several thousand families from the hills and reserved forests in Guwahati. But, while the authorities did not take steps to protect the cleared areas, encroachers went back again with two to three weeks,8221; says Moloy Barua of Early Birds, a leading NGO.
A bill introduced in the state assembly in December on the other hand met with opposition from both treasury and opposition benches with members pressing for a 8220;cut-off date8221; to protect those who have been encroaching for over 15 years. But, 8220;it is the vote that becomes more important,8221; says Barua.
