KOLLAM,
The Hindu, January 3, 2016
The Hindu, January 3, 2016
Leopard deaths from the State during 2015 stood at a low
of seven compared to 352 deaths reported from across the country.
Besides, of 76 leopard skins seized from different parts of the country,
only one was from Kerala.
Statistics provided by the
Wildlife Protection Society of India (WPSI) for 2015 show that poaching
accounted for two of the seven leopard deaths in Kerala. Four leopards
were found dead in forests and one died after being run over by a
vehicle.
The accident occurred in the Wayanad
Wildlife Sanctuary at Muthanga on the Kozhikode-Mysore National Highway
in April. The vehicle involved could not be identified.
The
leopard skin was seized at Shanghumugham in Thiruvananthapuram in
September. The seizure was made when four persons attempted to sell the
pelt.
Chief Wildlife Warden G. Harikumar told
The Hindu
that one of the prime factors that could have contributed towards the
low leopard mortality rate in the State was the Forest Department’s
efforts in preventing the emergence of a market for wild animal parts.
“Stray incidents are quickly detected and all involved are brought
before the law,” he added.
He said the department had
created awareness among the people that killing of wild animals was a
grave offence. Another factor was the intelligence gathering activity of
the department.
O.P. Kaler, Additional Principal
Chief Conservator of Forests (Biodiversity Cell), said besides
availability of prey inside the forests, geographical and awareness
factors have contributed to the security of leopards. Mr. Kaler said
though a leopard straying into human habitations was comparatively low
in Kerala, when that happened, the cat went unnoticed in most cases
because of the protective cover it got outside the forest areas.
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