IN recent weeks, some uptown Srinagar suburbs have witnessed wildlife intrusions. The residents of the colonies such as Rawalpora, Wanbal, Bagh-i-Mehtab and Residency Road have spotted leopards and wild feral cats which has triggered a scare. Though the teams of the Department of Wildlife Protection have visited the areas armed with tranquilizer guns and nets, they have so far been unable to capture and disable any wild animal. We can only hope that they do so in the coming days before anyone is harmed. However, a senior official of the department said that, in past, thirteen leopards have been captured from these areas.
At the same time, the wild life straying into residential localities is just a symptom of a wider environmental crisis in Kashmir. The leopards foraying into urban areas reveal the extent of shrinking habitat for wildlife in the valley, which, in turn, deprives them of food. The figures over the years show the alarming nature of the problem. According to the data provided by the wildlife department, the number of deaths from 2006 to March 2021 due to wildlife attacks rose to 224 while 2829 people were injured. In 2020, there were five deaths and 87 injuries.
In 2022, there were at least 131 instances of man-animal conflict in Wildlife Central Division comprising Srinagar, Ganderbal and parts of Pulwama district including Khrew and Pampore. Thirty-five people were injured in the incidents. Seventy-nine animals were rescued and later released in different wildlife sanctuaries.
Similarly, according to a study by the Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS), Soura, 76 percent of injuries were caused by bears between 2005 and 2016. Six percent were caused by leopards while two percent and one percent were caused by red fox and monkeys respectively. In 14 percent cases, animals could not be identified. However, the study found that leopard attacks were found to be more deadly with an almost 50 percent fatality rate. And worryingly enough, the wild animals are now foraying deep into the interiors of Srinagar. In September, last year, a female bear and her cubs were spotted roaming around Rajbagh and Jawahar Nagar.
While the wildlife department needs to make every effort to track down stray wild animals to protect people, we also need to have a policy in place to protect the wildlife habitat. This calls for halting growing human intervention and encroachment in forest areas. We need a long-term solution to fix the problem.
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