Guj plans sterilisation of leopards to curb man-animal conflict

The Gujarat forest department is exploring a sterilisation programme for leopards, especially those living in and around Gir Sanctuary, in a bid to address increasing human-animal conflict, officials said on Thursday.

The development comes in the wake of leopard attacks in the state, which recorded at least five deaths in the last couple of months. A formal proposal in this regard has been submitted to the central authorities and an approval is awaited, state forest officials said.

“Earlier, too, a similar move was mooted by the state forest department, but it was not approved by the Centre. This time, the department aims to sterilise male leopards that are caught with big cats that have come in conflict with humans,” a senior forest official said, requesting anonymity.

Leopards captured for attacking humans are usually sent to a zoo in Junagadh where they are kept in captivity. The decision has evoked mixed reactions from wildlife experts.

Dr HS Singh, a member of the National Board for Wildlife, welcomed the decision. “...In Gujarat the population of leopards has reached around 2,000. In certain sites where the population is 25 to 30 per 100sqkm, it should be contained.” “Instead of killing them, they should be sterilised...” Some experts, however, voiced concerns.

Nishith Dharaiya, a member of the IUCN Human Wildlife Conflict Task Force, said: “Most of these attacks occur when people are sleeping in the open or children and old people are left unattended in the fields.” “We carried out an awareness programme in Central Gujarat for sloth bears where conflict zones were identified. We believe attacks have gone down in these areas.”