Tavarekere: Leopard caught, 2 more seen

Bengaluru: A two-year-old leopard was captured in Gulajanjihalli near Tavarekere on Wednesday morning. Villagers had panicked after multiple sightings  of the leopard near the area over the last few days.

Deputy Conservator of Forests Deepika Bajpai said, “Two days ago, we had laid a trap with a dog. Around 5 am on Wednesday, we captured the leopard and released it at Kallipura Sulikere forest.”

The villagers have also been sighting two more leopards and cubs near the village. “It is a stone quarry area and these animals would have made some space in the gaps and living there. We will plan traps for these leopards after a few days,” Deepika said. Sharath Babu, a wildlife expert, said, “In 2015, nine leopards were captured in the same area. They are mostly from the Basavantara reserve forest. They would have come in search of easy food.”

Recently, the forest department collated data on human-wildlife conflicts from its 36 forest/wildlife divisions between 2014-15 and 2016-17. The data showed that such conflicts accounted for one death every week.

Sharath said, “While we expand urban areas, we tend to ignore the impact it would have on the wildlife. We are reducing forests and entering the homes of these creatures. If they don’t have enough space, they are likely to get into ours. Proper planning should be made to ensure better co-existence.”