M F AHMAD
Daltonganj, Dec 26: Shashikar Samanta (1989 batch IFS officer), the Principal Chief Conservator of Forest and Chief Wildlife Warden of Jharkhand in a first-ever telephonic interview with lagatar24.com spoke at length about the leopard in the Garhwa jungles and the terror that it has unleashed among the villagers.
Here are the excerpts from the interview.
Q: Villagers tell they are now sighting less of wild boars since the arrival of the leopard in the jungles. What is this connection?
A: Wild boars might have moved on to some safer destination away from the influence of the leopard. It may also be due to extreme and excessive human intervention for the leopard in the jungles. The villagers and our men are looking for the leopard.
Q: Pariah dogs are said to be the softest target for the leopard. What is this?
A: Not just pariah dogs but even pet dogs. Leopards are pretty fond of dogs. During my 7-year stint in Dehradun where I was with the forest research institute, I had witnessed leopards devouring dogs. We used to caution families not to leave their pets alone outside their houses. Dogs do give us early warning signs of leopards around but their lives remain most perilous before this agile carnivore.
Q: Have you or your department issued an advisory asking people to be cautious about the leopard?
A: Yes. We have done this in a plain manner. It does not cause panic and at the same time, it does not leave room for any complacency. The key words of our advisory are care, caution and control. Be indoors before the night falls. Avoid going to the jungles. Keep children and women safer.
Q: Ex-gratia relief to the families who suffer the death of their members due to wildlife often comes late. In the two cases in Garhwa, so far except for some amount for post-death rituals, the government compensation is out of reach of the bereaved families. Why?
A: Ex-gratia relief is bound to come over to the bereaved families. We are very concerned about the families that lost their kids to the leopard.
Q: Will the forest personnel take the help of drones to discover the leopard in the jungle?
A: I wish my forest officers ought to have done this. Drone is to fly and we believe it will help us.
Q: Why do you think children became the targets of the leopard and not adults?
A: Have you not seen that monkeys take more liberty with children than adults? The case here is the same as that. We want children to be safe and their parents must be up and doing.
Q: Palamu Tiger Reserve claims to have over 100 leopards in it. Do you think so?
A: The PTR report presented to me showed the presence of 21 leopards in 30 days. PTR does claim to have 100-plus leopards.
