Water shortage pushing leopards into ‘man’s territory’

All eyes in the Nashik forest department are on the man-versus-beast conflict playing out in the district. The two recent attacks by leopards in the village of Shivare, near Niphad  (about 35km from Nashik), just 25 days apart, have not come as a surprise to many.

G Saiprakash, chief conservator of forests, Nashik division, clarifies that leopards have been on the prowl in and around Nashik for quite some time now. “The Nashik gazetteer notes the presence of leopards in the region. So, it (report of sightings) is not a new or a recent finding. At times, their population rises and at times, it drops.”

Explaining the reason behind leopards abandoning their natural habitat and encroaching upon ‘man’s territory,’ Vijay Hinge, district forest officer (planning), says the Western Ghats — where Nashik is located — are surrounded by dams and water bodies. The ample supply of water in the 4km-stretch around canals and rivers fed by the dams gives rise to natural vegetation. At Nashik, the Godavari river has helped in the growth of sugarcane and orchid fields. Since they can find easy prey like foxes, birds, rabbits and frogs in sugarcane fields, leopards make them their home. But in times of water shortage and when sugarcane has been harvested — as is the case now — leopards have no option but to venture out of their new habitat in search of food and water.

Leopard sightings in residential areas have been on the rise in recent years. From 2004 to March 2012, Nashik residents have had at least 10 confrontations with leopards. Sightings and attacks in sugarcane fields or at the borders of the jungles have been more frequent.

“Since 2003, 40-45 leopards have been trapped in Nashik and released into the wild after microchip were inserted into their tails to keep track of them,” says Saiprakash.

He rubbishes the rumour flying thick and fast at Shivare that the leopards infesting the area are the ones that were earlier caught and set free into the wild. “The chances of that are very low, as areas in jungles where the leopards were released are very far away from Niphad. Shivare falls under the sugarcane belt. Leopards must have shifted to the sugarcane area sometime ago and must have formed a habitat there. The leopards which have been sighted in the village are well-fed, proving that they must have easy access to prey found in the sugarcane fields.”

Although the Nashik forest department has had many an encounter with leopards, it has been found wanting in measures to capture them. To date, there has been only one person, forest range officer Sunil Wadekar, who is equipped to tranquilise them with darts and to insert microchip into them.

But all that is set to change. The forest department will soon start a training programme for forest guards to deal with such conflicts.

“The government has also sanctioned new equipment, and we will get the newly designed kit soon,” says Saiprakash.