But the incidence of the big cats lurking about the human settlements has been gradually rising, resulting in a frequent confrontation between the leopards and humans, putting the lives of both leopards and humans at grave risk. [break]
In the most recent incident, two elderly men of Kuikel village in Changunarayan VDC-9 of Bhakatpur were injured in an attack that involved two leopards. Though there was no human casualty in the attack, one of the leopards was killed by the locals while the other managed to escape. Sixty-year-old Sitaram Neupane and 57-year-old Harikaji Bhadel were injured in the incident.
According to District Superintendent of Police Puskar KC, sightings of leopards are common in the villages near the Changunarayan forest.
He attributed it to the encroachment of wild habitat by humans.
Officials at the central zoo said that seven to nine leopards are sighted in the valley each year now and that the trend is increasing.
Leopards have sneaked into residential areas like Maharajgunj, Kirtipur, Changunarayan, Danchi, Kavresthali, Imadol, Khumaltar, Tundaldevi, Chandol, Balkot and Sirutar, among other places, in the valley.
“Last year we rescued nine leopards. We have rescued six leopards in the last six months alone,” said a senior zoo official Sukh Bahadur Gurung.
“This calls for better preparedness to tackle the potential dangers of human-leopard conflict,” he stressed.
According to him, in order to make rescue operations more effective, the government must reset the process of mobilizing official apparatus to deal with such situation
The way things work right now, the animal rescue team at the zoo cannot straight away head to a site where a wild animal has been sighted even after being informed about the incidence.
The team has to wait for a green signal from the district forest office or the national park office depending upon where the animals are spotted.
“We normally get calls from the police or the public. But we cannot send our rescue team until we get a nod from the concerned office. It´s really a problem,” he said.
“If a leopard is sighted outside a protected zone, we need green signal from the district forest office. If the sighting has occurred inside a protected area, it is the respective national park office whose nod we must await. That´s really a clumsy way of handling the situation given the danger facing the people as well as the animals,” Gurung said.
He added that the zoo has already requested the authority to simplify the process.
Bal Krishna Giri, of wildlife rescue unit, claimed that the rescue team in the zoo is skilled and efficient in safe rescue of leopards that have wandered into human settlements. “However, with such incidences rising, we might need more rescue teams,” he said.
According to Giri, more leopards enter cities in the dry season due to lack of water in the jungle. If humans leave them alone, they´d simply return to the jungle after quenching their thirst.
“But people begin to panic unnecessarily when they see leopards. When people behave with hostility, the animal gets scared and tries to fight back,” Giri said.
“There have been many cases when the locals kept torturing the animals even after we had reached the spot. Some people do so just to show their heroism by killing the animal,” Giri said. “Capturing and rescuing animal becomes more challenging if locals do not cooperate,” he added.
According to Giri, out of the total leopards rescued since the last year, only two are in the zoo. “One died due to injury and others were released in the jungle,” he said.
Meanwhile, Sarita Gyawali, a project manager at the zoo, stresses that the zoo that is spread over an area of six hectares has small cage for wild animals like leopard. “There is a need to develop other viable sites to keep the wild animals after they are rescued.”
How leopards are rescued
Radha Krishna Gharti, an employee at the central zoo, has special connection with leopards. The relationship began 24 years ago when he was appointed veterinary assistant at the zoo. Since then, no leopard rescue operation has been carried out without his involvement.
He is often repetitive when he narrates how he and Bal Krishna Giri -- the leopard rescue operation team at the zoo includes only the two of them -- control the wild leopards sighted in the valley. They either release leopards in the jungle or carry them to the zoo, that is, if they do not succumb to human assault.
“Leopards never turn violent until and unless people scare them. The moment they step into a human habitation, they are chased, hunted down and tortured mercilessly.”
Gharti said he always makes it a point to tell people that attacking leopards would be very insensitive on their part. He enthusiastically shares the challenges of rescuing leopards.
“As soon as we get the permission to carry out rescue, we rush to the spot, regardless of whether it is a day or night. We are acutely aware of the fact that the risk increases with the passing of each second. We try to reach the spot as fast as we can,” said Gharti who himself has been a victim of leopard attack twice in the course of rescue.
“Our team consists of me and Dr Giri and our driver has also taken deep interest in wildlife over time. As the leopards confronted by humans react very aggressively, we need to have immense patience to deal with the creature. We wait until the leopard clams down and then we shoot tranquilizers. It takes around 10 to 15 minutes for the animal become unconscious. After that, you may kiss it, hug it or carry wherever you want to,” Gharti said.
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