“Wildlife department while taking care of civilians have to also look for measures beyond capture and rescue operations in the vicinity of forest areas in the spirits of wildlife protection”.
The unprecedented rise in leopard attacks in recent days in difference parts of Kashmir Valley has triggered a debate over “capture and Recue” operations of the wildlife department and more so after the killing of a man eater leopard by a wildlife squad in Khansahib area of Central Kashmir’s Budgam district. While “capture the leopards alive” or “rescue” the victims attacked by the leopards are inevitably the last resorts for the wildlife department, the bigger concern is the movement of leopards from dense woods to plains in the upper reaches of both Kashmir Valley and as well as Jammu division. Though Wildlife Department issues advisories from time to time wherein it advises people particularly children to restrict their movement but such advisories are issued from the department only after the reports about the movement of the leopards in one or other civilian area in the vicinity of forest areas go viral on social media sites. Barring the “”capture and rescue” operation the wildlife department can also take some other measures for resolving the potential conflicts arising between humans and leopards in remote rural areas of Kashmir Valley and as such the wildlife department while taking care of civilians have to also look for measures beyond capture and rescue operations in the vicinity of forest areas in the spirits of wildlife protection. While the Central Government’s guidelines on management of human-leopard conflict mandates the wildlife department to discourage the capture of leopards on mere sight and instead take preventative measures before taking final call on capturing alive a leopard or killing the animal, the wildlife department mostly ignores the advice of the experts in the field and instead takes proactive measures to capture alive the leopards or kill them. Though leopards killing people in bring under tremendous stress the nearby civilian areas in different districts of Kashmir Valley but the situation does not always demand a capture in the guise of rescue.
“Amid increasing human leopard conflicts in Jammu & Kashmir some promising approaches being tested across India if also tested in Jammu & Kashmir can reduce the intensity of increasing leopard attacks in Kashmir Valley. In this direction measures like early warning systems, regular monitoring, fencing, better lighting, public education, and improved waste management if introduced in Jammu & Kashmir would most likely reduce the unprecedented rise in leopard attacks in Kashmir Valley. It is for the wildlife department to muster the courage to take alternative measures and use all available resources to carry out useful research for implementing innovative strategies as after all capture and rescue are not the only two viable options for reducing the increasing leopard-human conflicts in Jammu & Kashmir.”
In fact the proactive conflict management practices necessitate proactive measures for capturing leopard alive only when a tense situation puts to risk the lives of people in the nearby civilian areas. Amid increasing human leopard conflicts in Jammu & Kashmir some promising approaches being tested across India if also tested in Jammu & Kashmir can reduce the intensity of increasing leopard attacks in Kashmir Valley. In this direction measures like early warning systems, regular monitoring, fencing, better lighting, public education, and improved waste management if introduced in Jammu & Kashmir would most likely reduce the unprecedented rise in leopard attacks in Kashmir Valley. It is for the wildlife department to muster the courage to take alternative measures and use all available resources to carry out useful research for implementing innovative strategies as after all capture and rescue are not the only two viable options for reducing the increasing leopard-human conflicts in Jammu & Kashmir.
