Foresters release trapped Koka leopard at Chaprala

NAGPUR: The ‘problem’ male leopard trapped from Chiklabodi forest area adjoining Koka Wildlife Sanctuary in Bhandara district has been released in Chaprala Wildlife Sanctuary in Gadchiroli district.
The release of problem leopard in Chaprala, 200km away from its home range, is in violation of ministry of environment, forest and climate change (MoEFCC) guidelines that clearly state such leopards either should not be released or released in their home range.
The carnivore was trapped after a leopard mauled a five-year-old girl Kushi Sarathe in a farm in Chiklabodi near Koka on December 22. Under pressure from politicians and locals, forest department put up three cages in the area in which a male leopard was trapped on December 30.
Even as cages were in place, another six-month-old leopard cub got trapped, indicating there was mother leopard in the same area with another cub. Hence, it could not be determined which leopard had actually killed the girl. However, deputy conservator of forests (DyCF) Umesh Verma sought permission from chief wildlife warden to release the caught leopard in wild. After discussions, the leopard was clandestinely released in Chaprala in the wee hours of January 1.
Experts say it is very important that human intervention is restricted to minimum to avoid future conflict. However, Chaprala has poor prey base and grazing is rampant. There are at least six villages inside the sanctuary. Two days ago even well-known wildlife scientist Dr K Ullas Karanth, during a presentation in the city, had explained shifting of such animals elsewhere was not advisable. “It means shifting of conflict to a new unaffected place,” he added.
Forest officials on condition of anonymity said, “In the last 12 days there is no conflict nor incident of any domestic animal kill, which is a good indication that the leopard must be settling down.” However, wildlife biologist and leopard expert Vidya Athreya said, “The problem is going persist as there is no high level interest in discussing leopard issue though Maharashtra has done a lot of good work in tackling conflict in Western Maharashtra.”
MoEFCC guidelines also say all released animals should be monitored by tagging them with microchips, ear tags, or colour coded collars before release. This too was not done in case of Koka leopard. No scientist or expert was involved in such crucial translocation. Experts said leopards tended to return to their home range even from huge distances. “In Koka leopard case, the department has created a confusion. Even if the leopard returns to Koka, it cannot be ascertained it the same one,” they added.
Another set of experts is of the view that the leopard was good move otherwise animal would suffered in cage unnecessarily. As it is there are at least 50 caged leopards in the state. No zoo is ready to accept them.”