As much of the wildlife conservation effort in Adilabad remained concentrated on tiger so far, the leopard has been seemingly left to fend for itself against the threat posed by poachers. At least two of these animals have been killed in the Kawal Tiger Reserve (KTR) in the last few months as was evident from the skins recovered from poachers.
A leopard skin recovered in Kagaznagar in the last week of December has been established to be one year old originating from KTR, close to Birsaipet village to be precise. Also, a burnt carcass of a leopard was found near Gangapur in Kadem mandal in the KTR a little earlier in the same month.
Two other leopards were lost near Alinagar-Dongapalli villages in the preceding years. “The credit for survival should go to the animals themselves as there is hardly any protection measure undertaken for them here,” observes a forest officer on condition of anonymity.
It was not until the visit of Nadendla Manohar, former Speaker of Andhra Pradesh, to KTR four days back that the attention of the authorities was drawn strongly towards the need for protection of this animal which belongs to the genus Panthera like the tiger. A keen wildlife enthusiast, he noticed the movement of leopards by way of its distinctive call and through its pug marks wherever he went during his visit.
At present, there are 25 to 30 leopards in the KTR and this threshold population has remained constant for a few years now. The number of animals getting killed by poachers every year seems to be equal to that which gets added every year to the existing number of leopards in the reserve thereby keeping the threshold population constant, according to estimates of conservationists.
According to experts, KTR is excellent leopard territory what with its thick and varied vegetation comprising of bamboo and other large trees. “The reserve can support at least 75 leopards with tigers and much more without tigers,” opines Imran Siddiqui of the Hyderabad Tiger Conservation Society (HYTICOS), a Hyderabad-based NGO involved in conservation work in the KTR.
“The leopard is a unique animal and needs special protection measures. A plan for its conservation will be in order,” adds Mr. Siddiqui.
