Pigs provide food for panthers

The plan — whether it comes through or not — will seem heaven-sent to the villagers of Dahod district, Chhotaudepur and Halol, scores of whom have ben wounded by panthers in the recent past. Officials hold the scarcity of prey as well as frequent human forays into the forest responsible for this.

Forest department sources say the idea of using pigs as food has found favour since they are less prone to diseases than, say, dogs. Moreover, the department thinks such a scheme is practicable for such time as nature takes to restore a balance on its own.

Details of the plan are not easily available, though scion of the former ruling family of Jambughoda and wildlife enthusiast Vikramsinh Rana and chief conservator of forests G A Patel admit something like this is on the anvil.

While their reluctance to be quoted on the issue is attributed to apprehensions of a negative reaction from NGOs and religious bodies, sources say the officials are drawing strength from the Gir scheme. “We are aware of the problems the project might run into”, says Patel. “That’s why we’re planning to meet experts and chalk out a foolproof plan to restore the environmental balance.”

Part of the plan includes introducing herbivores in addition to the pigs into the panther sanctuary, notwithstanding the forest department’s failure to breed herbivores in captivity at Samli, near Jambughoda, for just such a purpose.

Apart from wildlife enthusiasts like Rana, the Gujarat Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the Pashu Sewa Kendra, too, are all for the scheme if it offers a solution to the twin menace of pigs and panthers. But while the GSPCA insists the pigs have to be vaccinated, Jemi Amin of PSK emphasises that extreme precision is necessary during implementation.

Activists also suggest that the pigs first be kept captive near the sanctuary and then set free after being cured of rabies and skin diseases.