Karnataka: India state deploys 300 people to catch elusive leopard

An operation to catch an elusive leopard has been below way in the southern Indian state of Karnataka for more than 27 days.

The animal first made headlines on 5 August when it bombarded a labourer in the densely populated Belgaum city in northern Karnataka. The man has been injured but made it the attack.

Ever since then, it has been spotted several times around a golf course within the city, triggering stress among residents.

The state’s forest division has enlisted close to 300 personnel — from veterinarians plus sharpshooters to anaesthetists – to capture the leopard plus release it right into a forest, but the procedure has been unsuccessful so far.

The issue has also induced a political firestorm, with opposition political figures asking the state’s forest minister, Umesh Katti, to resign – Mr Katti said this individual was prepared to do this if that meant “the leopard is going to be captured”. Karnataka can be governed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

“There has been a lots of public pressure in order to catch the leopard soon, so a lot more personnel have been pressed into service, ” Vijayakumar Gogi, a highly regarded forest official in the state, told the BBC.

But conservationists say the considerable operation – plus media attention – might be counter-productive to catching the reclusive animal.

Leopards are shy creatures, but over the years, there have been various reports of them going into Indian towns and cities in search of prey as their habitats shrink.

Karnataka — which has a vast forest area and several animals sanctuaries – offers 1, 783 leopards, the second highest in the united states, as per government information. The animals possess often been discovered in major metropolitan areas in the state, such as Bangalore and Mysore.

Anthony S Mariappa, a Belgaum woodland official who is going the operation, states this is the first time the leopard had been spotted in Belgaum city, which is why there is a lots of anxiety among individuals.

Around 20 digital camera traps have been setup at various areas near the golf course to track the leopard’s movement. A camera trap is a camera with an infrared sensor that automatically clicks a photograph when it senses the moving object.

Ten metal hutches containing dogs and piglets as lure have been set up to trap the animal.

“Efforts were also made to attract the leopard with pheromones, ” Mr Gogi says. “The scat and urine of a female leopard within heat were put on the cages to lure the leopard inside. ”

He provides that the team of more than 300 personnel offers combed the 300-hectare area thoroughly – thrice – to find the leopard. These people planned to get a sharpshooter to fire a tranquiliser dart at the leopard so that it could be taken and relocated to some nature reserve.

“We also hired two trained elephants as it’s easier to spot the leopard from a height. ”

Additionally , six JCB diggers were integrated to help personnel search for the leopard in dense terrain whilst still staying guarded from a potential assault. At one point, a drone was also flown over the region to try and spot the animal.

Mr Mariappa says the leopard was spotted two times during the operations but the animal snuck away before it could be caught.

He adds that heavy down pours in the state have also hampered efforts.

The rains have reduced visibility and produced several water systems within a small region, making it harder for forest officials to set up barriers.

“There’s also an ample quantity of prey in the area, therefore the leopard isn’t interested in the baits we all set up. ”

This individual adds that the press attention and mounting public pressure within the issue are causing problems.

“The government bodies and the public need quick results, so we’ve been pushed to try new experiments or make incremental changes in our operations every day. Yet to catch a leopard, there should be hardly any human intervention and a lot of peace and quiet, ” he admits that.

Wildlife biologist Sanjay Gubbi, who has been studying leopards within Karnataka for over ten years, agrees.

“[Leopards] may escape at the slightest disturbance than strike. So large-scale functions launched as a knee-jerk reaction to public pressure do more damage than good, ” he says.

He furthermore warns that capturing one leopard cannot solve the problem.

“What we need is more outreach programmes to help individuals understand leopards plus their behaviour. This can help build tolerance and acceptance so that guy and leopards may co-exist in contributed spaces in a safer, more peaceful way. ”