Stock image of leopard
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Some days back, a leopard attacked and killed a bike pillion rider. A woman was mauled to death in a second incident the same day

On Tuesday (July 19), two youths — Mohd. Anas and Afsarul — were returning on their motorbike to their home in Amroha from Uttarakhand's picturesque Almora hills. On a lonely stretch, as Anas drove on gingerly, in split seconds a leopard leapt from the thicket.

It pounced on pillion rider Afsarul and thwacked him down from the bike, dragging him to some distance, killing him.

Anas told the media that he was left dumb-struck, stunned by the suddenness of the attack. He could not do anything to save his friend.

Wildlife officials described the leopard attack as a rare case.

The same day in Pauri Garhwal, a 39-year old woman Reena Devi of village Dugadda Godi, Kotdwar, was walking back home after dropping her daughter to her school. A leopard attacked her ferociously. Her severely mauled body was found later.

The two deaths within a span of 24 hours took the toll from such attacks in man-animal conflict to 77 in the last five years in the hills of Uttarakhand, forest officials say.

In a note issued by forest officials, villagers have been warned about the behavior of leopards and tigers- "The leopard prefers an edge-type area before targeting its prey. On the other hand, a tiger feels more comfortable in a dense forest area."

Forest sources quoted by the media reports say in the last five years, 77 people have died in leopard attacks. In the last six months, the big cat family has killed 18 people, with the leopard claiming the lives of eight people.

Data released by the Uttarakhand Forest Department has revealed that 56 per cent of the human deaths in man-animal conflicts in the year 2020 occurred in the last four months of the year — after the free movement of people resumed following the easing of curbs due to the pandemic-induced lockdown.

As per the records of the Forest Department, 62 people died and 286 were injured in man-animal conflicts in 2020.

The maximum number of casualties — 30 deaths and 85 injuries — were by leopard attacks, followed by snake bites (15 deaths and 53 injuries), elephant attacks (11 deaths and eight injuries) and bear attacks (86 injuries).

Wildlife experts say that during the lockdown, wild animals like leopards, tigers and elephants expanded their territory as human movement ceased.

After the lockdown ended and as restrictions were eased, people entered these newly expanded territories and came in contact with wildlife, resulting in man-animal conflicts.

Uttarakhand has around 38,000 sq. km of forests — almost 71 per cent of its geographical area — and a significant human population resides in villages located in and around forest areas, both in the hills and plains.

Forest officials say that as more and more people venture into wild animals' territories, and an increase in the population of animals, have resulted in a rise in man-animal conflicts.

"Typically, young leopards and tigers like to travel long distances and start exploring new areas... When human activities stop, wild animals expand their territories and start using these areas," The Indian Express quoted Wildlife Institute of India (WII) dean Dr YV Jhala as saying.

Since the formation of the state in 2000, at least 800 people have been killed in man-wildlife conflict, with deaths due to leopard attacks accounting for nearly half of the total toll, reveals state forest department data.

Many man-eater leopards have also been shot dead by hunters engaged by the forest department.

According to The Status of Leopards in India report released in 2020, Uttarakhand reported the maximum number of leopards (839) in tiger habitations among Shivalik hills and Gangetic plains landscape, followed by 316 in Uttar Pradesh and 98 in Bihar.

The report "There is an increasing need for corridor connectivity, and improvement of habitat, to reduce interface with humans and thereby reducing the chance of conflict," the report said.

The Uttarakhand Forest Department has started an ambitious Rs 39 crore man-wildlife conflict mitigation project.

According to forest officials, over 280 km-long fencing will be set in different parts of the state at a cost of over Rs 18 crore. Also, 1,393 km elephant-proof trenches will be built areas in areas frequented by the elephants at a cost of Rs 4.4 crore.

Both fencing and trenches will act as barriers, preventing wildlife to sneak into residential areas.

HT, quoting Principal chief conservator of forests (PCCF) Rajiv Bhartari, said the ministry of environment, forests and climate change has provided Rs 39.7 crore under CAMPA (Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) fund to the state forest department for man-wildlife conflict mitigation.

"This is for the time that the range of the mitigation measures has been scaled up in the state," said Bhartari.