Human-animal conflict: How to live with leopards and let leopards live

"The mere sighting of a leopard is not a threat," wildlife researcher and conservationist Krishna Tiwari reminds people who feel attacked by the very presence of the big cat in the city. The chance of spotting one in certain parts of Mumbai is quite high, of course. In Sanjay Gandhi National Park's (SGNP) 103 sq. km. alone, there are close to 50 leopards.

Despite these high numbers, experts say leopards are typically shy and largely keep away from humans in the city. Yet, they also possess a powerful physique that can make them perfect "killing machines" - this strikes fear whenever the occasional trouble-making leopard emerges among the local population.

Human-animal conflict was in the spotlight in Mumbai for much of 2021, with several leopard sightings, confrontations, and trappings in Aarey Colony between August and November. More recently, in December Mid-day reported how a young male leopard had impressively walked 80 kilometres from Ahmednagar's sugar fields to a green patch in Mumbai's Ulhasnagar.

Where tribals embrace leopards as their deity and the subject of some Warli paintings, the majestic creatures have been more accommodative than combative as they co-exist in an ever-expanding city.

Mid-day Online spoke to Tiwari, who has been studying urban leopards with camera traps, which are used to monitor animal behaviour, since 2012 at SGNP. He shares insights on leopards in the city, the pressures of development, and how to live with the big cat

Wildlife conservationist and researcher Krishna Tiwari with hi-tech camera traps. Photo Courtesy: Krishna Tiwari

What are generally the triggers when there is a series of human-leopard conflicts, particularly in Mumbai?

There is no single specific trigger for attacks. This kind of thing happens once every five to six years. Aarey Colony has been a focal point of human-leopard conflict. Maybe not in the last few years but it goes back to the 2000s. Sanjay Gandhi National Park has witnessed serious human-wildlife conflict too. Since 2002, there have been around 100 attacks, and in 2004 alone, there were 30 attacks where 19 lives were lost.

When we first started the human-leopard awareness programmes, we noticed that Aarey Milk Colony was one of the prime locations for conflict. It has seen a lot of pressure - in the mid-1990s, there were about 9,000-10,000 families there and now more than 30,000-40,000 families are staying there.

Encroachments have increased. Native trees have been cleared for agriculture. I think those leopards are a bit traumatised. There is a lot of food availability also, which is unnatural. For now this may be helping the leopards' survival but imagine the diseases these stray dogs and pigs might carry.

About 812 acres of Aarey land have been given to the Forest Department. Definitely that is going to help. At the same time, many developmental projects have been proposed - like the Tiku ji ni wadi to Borivali tunnel, and the expansion of Ghodbunder Road - that can be a threat.

Can such confrontations be prevented?

Let me make it very clear. Human-leopard conflict is inevitable. There is no way you can stop leopards from having confrontations or stop people from having confrontations with leopards. But despite the number of people living around, the leopards venture out when the crowd thins out. They are about 600-700 metres from the city, and as soon as people are slowly getting out of the park, they come out in search of their survival.

It is important to note that not every leopard is problematic. It is not good to catch one that is not the culprit (in attacks). This will affect the behaviour of the innocent leopard and also it is a violation of the Wildlife Protection Act. There should be a proper study before carrying out any trapping exercise. There was a study by (ecologist) Vidya Athreya which stated that translocations are a problem too.

Generally, the leopards co-exist with people and people are also tolerant. But sometimes people get casual; they should keep some distance and vigilance, and let the leopard be there.

How has our understanding of human-animal conflict evolved?

There are limitations in our understanding of leopards. We have hi-tech camera traps through which we can see them coming and going in the dark, we can discover the secretive behaviour of the animals. These leopards are born in sound and light so they know the city very well and they know how to behave in the city very well. The park has a lot of humans - so just imagine, how would the leopard be hiding her cubs, how must she be feeding them? What sort of challenges does she have to face raising them? In this camera trap series, which I have been doing since 2012, we have seen pregnant leopards, leopards with cubs. They teach you how to survive in the city without being noticed or caught; it was a challenging and interesting thing to understand. The tech we have is still less to understand their behaviour. More is needed.

We need to understand the population part also. There are so many leopards in a small area. Despite 150 people dying every month in accidents, we continue to travel by train or by road, right? With leopards, 150 people wouldn't have died in 10 years also. When you travel by train, do you put your hand out? We have to follow safety measures if we want to co-exist with leopards in Bombay. In the recent videos of conflict that (leopard awareness) volunteers sent me, the leopards seemed more curious than furious. The locals should have known better and brought a torch while leaving to answer nature's call. That sort of carefulness has to be there.

What is the nature of leopards? What have you understood from observing them?

Leopards keep away because they are generally shy. If there are any movements and sounds, they run or camouflage themselves.

If a leopard becomes bold, it is very ferocious and dangerous. If a tiger has the capacity to fight four times its weight, a leopard can take down 10 times its weight - tribals believe this. No cat can climb a tree, but this cat can do that with a deer in its mouth, it can climb walls with struggling piglets in the mouth. Imagine the strength they have. There has to be a lot of research. They have used collars, which would help to shed light on the leopards' living and travelling.

What are some notable statistics when it comes to human-leopard interactions in the city?

Remember, we have probably one of the highest densities of leopards to be found anywhere in the world. In an area of around 103 sq km in SGNP, we have some 50 leopards. There are 54 nagars and padas in SGNP, with a population of around two lakh people living in some 40,000 houses. Out of that, 1,800 families are tribals. In Aarey Milk Colony, there are 26 padas, with some tribals and a lot of migrant population. So sightings are common.

What are people's responses like during awareness exercises?

The forest department did massive tracking exercises, talking to people in the padas about the dos and don'ts. When SGNP started education and awareness campaigns in 2005 to mitigate conflict, it was the first time when experiment was done. Initially, it was very difficult - to convince people who have lost a child that they have to find a way to co-exist because ‘you are not going anywhere and neither is the leopard'.

But tribals understand because they know. Their deity is ‘wagoba' or big cat - the tiger and leopard is a ‘big brother' to them. So they have a better understanding than most. Every day from their house they feel its presence through the behaviour of livestock, through pugmarks, etc. Locals who have come from outside and live in the forest, it was difficult to convince because they want leopards to be removed, but now even they have been understood. The problem is with those moving into nearby high-rises, who are promised nature free with the flat, but unko ek keeda bhi nahi chahiye (they are petrified of flies). These so-called middle and upper middle classes are the most uncomfortable. They sit in their balconies and see a leopard sitting in the park in the distance and send pictures to the Forest Department, asking for action to be taken. In reality, we are the intruders and the leopard has been there for generations.

But loss of life is loss of life, conflict is conflict. So as educators, we see there is anger, retaliation but as soon as the situation settles, people are comfortable. In Aarey, there is a place called Marushipada, where a person's wife's sister was killed by a leopard in 2010-12, and two years later he was helping us with setting up camera trapping. International writers are surprised at how tolerant we are - they even trap foxes there. Overall, we are much more aware and respectful, despite being populous; we have managed to lose just 1-2 species. The high-rise residents have network, money and can put pressure to have leopards removed. Poor migrant families and tribes are comfortable with leopards.

What should people do when faced with a leopard?

Always avoid a situation where you might come face-to-face with a leopard. If you find yourself in such a situation, try to keep your distance while looking at the leopard and keep on going back. And if you know that there is enough distance, try to slip away. When going for nature's call in the forest, take somebody along with you who can keep a watch. Carry a torch, stick or have music that you can play.

In my own working experience of two decades, I have had very interesting interactions with leopards, I almost felt their presence many times. I always try to respect them, maintain a distance. In many situations, the cat will itself get away from you. Humans are not the natural prey of any cat. With our body mass ratio, there is not much for them to eat.

Any concluding thoughts?

The mere sighting of a leopard is not a conflict. I think this should be reiterated so that there is no needless panic. We need to think about how we have eaten into their spaces, we have depleted their habitat, and decreased their prey base. If people have that kind of understanding that the leopard is just trying to survive, they will see that they are one of the most harmless predators.

We should actually pity them, instead of portraying them as villains. Mumbaikars and Thanekars should be proud to have one of the biggest urban protected tropical forests to be found anywhere in the world. And it is pristine, not man-made. It has a lot of ecological, hydrological value. We need to have these predators and animals in our city. That is what makes Mumbai different from the rest of the cities of the world. Leopards come to shop in our malls!