High toll of leopards in Assam’s spots of bother

“Leopards are indeed under severe threat across the state. Increasing conflict between people and wild animals,more particularly leopards,has become a major problem,especially with a section of the people violently retaliating,causing injury and even death to the animals,” said S P Singh,state chief conservator of forests (wildlife). Forest Minister Rockybul Hussain said a committee has been constituted to examine how this could be checked.

Such has been the menace that the state forest department last month mounted a media campaign to generate awareness against killing or causing harm to leopards. The authorities have asked the people to immediately inform the forest department when they sight a wild animal outside a sanctuary or national park instead of trying to attack it.

Though no official statistics are readily available on the death of leopards at the hands of human beings,unofficial reports put the figure at around 70 betwen 2005 and 11. The highest number of leopards killed was in 2008,with Aaranyak,a leading wildlife NGO putting the toll that year at 29. Last year,seven leopards were killed in Dibrugarh alone.

Environment and wildlife NGOs,meanwhile,blame the government for failing to protect the wildlife habitats in the state. In Upper Assam,leopards have always been common in the tea-growing districts. “But the same people who used to earlier revere the wild animal are today in retaliatory mood,” said a forest official of the Upper Assam region.

In Dikom tea estate,the authorities have created a team to capture leopards alive and then release them in Jeypore reserve forest. “We have been spending quite a sum to trap the leopards and live and also transport them to Jeypore at our own cost,” said Samarjyoti Chaliha,manager of the tea estate where 19 cats have been captured in three years.

In Guwahati,the problem has suddenly increased with vacant land and hillocks being rapidly converted into residential areas.