Pune, Nov 3: A day after enraged locals set ablaze a forest department vehicle following the death of a 13-year-old boy in a leopard attack in Pune district, the authorities on Monday ordered the capture and “elimination” of the animal.
A team of five sharpshooters has been deployed in the area for the purpose, forest officials said.
People from leopard attack-prone regions like Junnar, Ambegaon, Shirur in the district organised a “rasta roko” (road blockade) near Avsari on the Pune-Nashik Highway on Monday to protest against the frequent attacks by big cats.
In the last one month, three persons died in leopard attacks in the Shirur region, sparking anger among the locals, who have been demanding preventive steps to curb the human-animal conflict.
“Today, we are conducting a camera trap exercise. Swabs will be collected from leopards caught during the tranquilising process to identify those involved in the recent fatal attacks. The samples will be sent to the labs for DNA matching with swabs taken from the victims and if a match is found, the particular leopard will be eliminated,” said Smita Rajhans, assistant conservator of forests, Junnar forest division.
She said that the principal conservator of forests has issued the “shooting orders”.
“Today, a team of sharpshooters equipped with tranquilising guns and normal guns will be laying the traps and they will catch the leopards. Those leopards will be kept at a rehabilitation centre to carry out the swab collection process,” she added.
On Sunday, a leopard killed Rohan Bombe (13) in Pimparkhed village when he was playing near the farms.
After the incident, angry locals set a patrolling van of the forest department on fire and demonstrated outside its base camp against the recurring incidents of leopard-human conflicts in the area, officials said.
According to the Wildlife Institute of India, the Junnar forest division in Pune has 6 to 7 leopards for every 100 sq km.
The abundant water supply, growing human population engaged in agriculture, and the rising number of domestic animals created a conducive environment for leopards to inhabit these farmlands. (PTI)
