02 July,2020 03:04 PM IST | Mumbai | Ranjeet Jadhav
Picture/Ranjeet Jadhav
The Forest Department intensified efforts to trap a leopard which has, so far, killed three children and a 75-year-old man and injured two others along the sugarcane belt in Nashik in the last three months.
To trap the wild cat, a leopard rescue team from Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) which has expertise in trapping animals has reached Nashik. The team has installed 16 trap cages and camera traps. Moreover, the officials are also using drones to check the activity of the leopard.
Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (APCCF) Wildlife, Sunil Limaye, visited Nashik on Monday and interacted with the forest department officials involved in the operation.
"There have been four deaths and two injuries due to man-leopard conflict in Nashik. So a team of SGNP that has expertise in trapping leopards involved in such conflicts has reached here to help the local forest department officials. A total of 16 trap cages have been set to catch the suspected leopard. About 20 camera traps have been set and a few more camera traps are being set up in nearby areas also. SGNP team and local forest officials are also spreading awareness in nearby villages to be alert," Limaye said.
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Incidents of leopards attacking locals have been reported in the villages in Nashik East area, close to Eklahare, Samangaon, Kotamgaon, Jakhori, Hinganwadi, Kalavi, and Gangapadali. These areas have vast sugarcane fields and a scattered forest patch where leopard sightings have been a common thing.
Veterinary officer at SGNP, Dr Shailesh Pethe, said, "There have been incidents of a leopard attacking humans in villages located in the eastern part of Nashik. We have prepared a strategy to capture the suspected leopard and camera traps and cages have been installed."
"The terrain or the landscape where the conflict incidents have taken place has vast stretches of sugarcane fields which give the leopard an ample amount of space to roam and hide," he added.
June 15 - A 75-year-old killed in Donwade village
June 16 - A three-year-old girl killed in Babhaleshwar village
May 1 - A four-year-old killed at Donwade village
April 19 - A 12-year-old boy killed near Hinganvedhe village
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