Snow leopard conflict cases rise in Ladakh

There have been round 9 snow leopard battle circumstances reported in Ladakh through the previous two months of nationwide lockdown the place the elusive carnivores have killed or attacked livestock in village corrals, in line with the wildlife safety division of Jammu and Kashmir.

Out of the 9 snow leopards present in battle with habitation, six needed to be caught and moved to the division’s rescue centre in Leh for a interval of 15 days to a month. One of them continues to be on the rescue centre and shall be launched within the wild in a fortnight or so, in line with Md Sajid Sultan, regional wildlife warden, Ladakh.

“Snow leopards and Himalayan brown bears have been seen to be moving about more freely closer to habitation compared to the past two years. There have been around nine conflict cases involving snow leopards in less than two months which may be linked to less movement of humans during lockdown. There were two conflict cases last year,” he mentioned, including that the Himalayan brown bears have been noticed on highways and villages the place they haven’t been seen in a long time.

The six snow leopards that had been concerned in conflicts and killing of livestock, together with sheep and Pashmina goats, from villages at decrease altitudes needed to be confined to a rescue centre both as a result of that they had accidents, points with their tooth, a weak pelvic girdle or worms.

“This is also a lean season for them. They do not find enough prey in high altitudes and so tend to come down. February to March is the mating season and then they have the birthing season in May to July. They are tired and look for food during this time. Higher cases of conflict are also related to that,” added Sultan who has three snow leopards on the rescue centre presently, two caught earlier than lockdown who will not be launched of their lifetimes as they’ve severe accidents.

Those launched again to the wild are both radio collared or GPS tagged with a microchip to trace their behaviour or motion.

But these learning snow leopards say it’s not a good suggestion to seize them and confine them even for just a few weeks following a livestock raid.

“Livestock killing by snow leopards is not just common in India but in all range countries. I am not sure it’s the wisest thing to capture them. Communities should be helped to find better ways to protect livestock. But those on the frontline are dealing with a tough situation because herders are badly impacted if a large share of their livestock is raided,” mentioned Ajay Bijoor, assistant director, conservation, excessive altitudes at Nature Conservation Foundation.

“Lockdown may not have an impact on the livestock raiding behaviour of snow leopards. Lockdown and these raids could be coincidental. Snow leopards do periodically kill free grazing livestock. So, if herders haven’t been taking livestock out for grazing post lockdown, a particular snow leopard who is partially dependent on livestock, can get into a village in search of food, enter a corral and attack livestock,” mentioned Anish Andheria, president – Wildlife Conservation Trust. “Two factors, hunger and familiarity can encourage a snow leopard to raid corrals. Once inside a corral, the snow leopard, in excitement, usually attacks and/or kill multiple animals. If the rescued snow leopard is not injured then it is best to release it immediately or in a day, after monitoring its conditions. If found with injuries, it can be treated at a rehabilitation centre, until it is fit for release, and then released in its territory, that is a kilometer or two from the village where it was found,” he added.

Experts cautioned in opposition to capturing and confining snow leopards turning into the norm for battle circumstances, giving them area to go away is extra advisable as tranquilising them might pose a danger to their lives.

A research led by Grimsö Wildlife Research Station; Snow Leopard Trust; Panthera in 2016 had discovered that 40% of the protected areas that included snow leopard habitat had been too small to host even one breeding pair of cats. This is as a result of the cats moved round fairly a bit and their ranges diversified in dimension.

According to the Snow Leopard Trust, if snow leopards are captured and despatched into captivity every time livestock is attacked, there could also be a gradual discount in snow leopard numbers within the wild in a brief time frame. Capturing snow leopards which have killed livestock can even result in native communities themselves beginning to routinely seize them. Instead, the group may be engaged to each preserve the snow leopards and shield livestock.

In India, snow leopards inhabit the upper Himalayan and Trans Himalayan panorama in an altitudinal vary between roughly 3,000 m to five,400 m above imply sea stage in 5 states–Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh. This space contributes to solely 5% of the worldwide snow leopard vary. There are round 500 snow leopards in India in line with Wildlife Fund for Nature however no census has been performed but.

The atmosphere ministry has requested Wildlife Institute of India to review the impression of lockdown on wildlife in numerous elements of the nation. “The wildlife department is supposed to minimise conflict as much as possible. If that is not possible the protocol is to capture them, treat them, keep them in rescue centres for a brief period and then release them. Snow Leopard conflicts are more common in Himachal Pradesh and Ladakh compared to Sikkim and Uttarakhand. Lots of animal sighting are happening now. Its natural because of less human movement and vehicular traffic. We have asked Wildlife Institute of India to study these findings,” mentioned Soumitra Dasgupta, extra director basic wildlife at atmosphere ministry.