Kalyan,
As always, I’m moved by your conscience.
I have made an entry about this on my blog:
http://thegreenogre.blogspot.com/2008/09/leopard-village-and-photographers.html

best,
Bijoy

Yes they’re ignorant, but what do you expect? Do they have the opportunities and outlooks that many of us have been blessed with? Of course not and it’s not their fault. Until people are empowered and given the necessities that they need to survive, especially proper education, this will be the norm in many parts of rural India.

before you read too much into the subject and continue bashing the villagers, I’d like to say something in their defence.

I dont think its a matter of man encroaching the forest here as much as in what already existed a few decades ago. tea plantations have been around since the British era. you’re best bet is educating the people on animal behaviour and animal-human interactions. while man may be brutal beyond means, there are several instances of where such programs have resulted in good coming about.

you have done a commendable job from your writings and with the people at NCF, there is no reason to see why this behaviour in people cannot change. Eventually, its the people of the area that will decide the fate of the flora and fauna around, not armchair experts like myself and the ilk.

rahul

Hi Promod,
I am an avid wild-life fan, and it amuses me how anyone would ask such a question. No offence, but the answer to your Q on the reason for man-animal conflict is this: ‘Its their home’. We move in, and try to shove them outta the way. Thats the reason for conflict. With the ever-expanding cities and towns, not to mention the ‘tourist’ hill stations, is it any wonder that more such incidents are in the offing?

Not to a very great extent, but the tribals in most parts of the world still know co-habitation better than the supposedly ‘knowledgable, cultured’ savages that we all represent.

And this is a global phenomenon, and not limited to just India. In the US, there is an annual Rattlesnake ‘Festival’ in which purses, shoes, belts, etc. made of rattlesnake skin are sold. Not just that, the event’s star-attraction is the live skinning of rattlers amid cheers from the audience! The supporters of this event and its attendees justify the event by quoting the number of people killed every year by rattlesnake bites. Who will tell thez fools that more rattlesnake bites means requiring more anti-venom to treat them, which translates into the reason to keep more rattlers alive!
(Just for the record, rattlesnake venom is among the deadliest of ‘em all, and the anti-venom for any venom can be made only from it.)

Bravo, kalyan for the good effort.

-Ramesh Viswanadha

was is a he or a she… in case if its a female did you guys try to find out if it had cubs ?? I am not conversant with the breeding cycle of leopards… but maybe she has cubs around that need to be saved !! am sure you guys would of thought of it .. but just in case..

the poor thing looks young.. may be it was just trying to stake out a territory of its own

Anand Narayanan

Its great relief that Leopard was servived. Otherwise like in most of
the stories, I see that cruel villagers will not at all leave the animal
alive. Also it gives me great relief when ever i get to know about persons who really have concern about wild life animals.

A nature lover