Rewind 2023: Another year of man-animal conflict

Wildlife conservationist, Sanjay Gubbi, says there are about 30 to 35 leopards on the outskirts of Bengaluru and about 40 in the Bannerghatta National Park

Forest Department personnel setting up a trap cage at Kudlu Gate, Singasandra, for catching a leopard that strayed in, off Hosur Road in Bengaluru on October 30, 2023. | Photo Credit: special arrangement

Like the previous year, 2023 also witnessed instances of man-animal conflict in and around Bengaluru. However, this year saw casualties among humans and animals. The one among them which garnered attention was the death of a leopard on November 1.

The feline said to be aged about 12 years old, which was seen wandering in AECS Layout and Kudlu Gate near the Singasandra area for over three days, succumbed to a gunshot by Forest Department personnel when they were trying to capture it.

Forest Department personnel said the leopard was shot at only after it attacked its four people during the combing operation to capture it.

The movement of this leopard on streets of the residential area during night time and also in the basement of an apartment, which was captured on CCTV cameras, had caused a lot of anxiety among residents of the locality. A couple more instances of leopard spotting were reported in Chikkathogur off NICE Road and Soladevanahalli.

Following repeated instances of the leopard sighting in the city’s residential areas, the government decided to set up a dedicated rapid response Leopard Task Force for Bengaluru.

Search for food

Environment and Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre said due to the lack of rain, wild animals were coming from the forest areas in search of food. He had also instructed the Department to capture wild animals that stray into Bengaluru and release them into the forests or send them to rehabilitation centres.

According to wildlife conservationist Sanjay Gubbi, there are about 30-35 leopards on the outskirts of Bengaluru and about 40 in the Bannerghatta National Park.

Jumbo menace

While instances of elephant attacks on humans in Hassan, Kodagu, and Chikkamagaluru are not uncommon, during the year, there were also occurrences of human deaths due to elephant attacks in the outskirts of Bengaluru.

In May, a 48-year-old tribal woman belonging to the Hakki Pikki community who was herding cattle in BNP limits at Anekal was trampled to death by a wild elephant. Veerabhadra, a farmer in Ramanagara district, was trampled to death by a wild elephant. In another case, Ravi, a farmer, had been trampled by an elephant near the BNP. On December 17, another farmer was trampled to death by a wild elephant in Kanakapura.

The formation of two Elephant Task Forces at Bannerghatta and Ramanagara to control human-elephant conflict was also announced on the lines of those already operating in Hassan, Chikkamagaluru, Kodagu, Mysuru, and Chamarajanagar.

Earlier this month, there was an instance of a wild elephant being electrocuted near Kanakapura, which was found buried in a farm.

In September, seven leopard cubs died at BNP after being infected by Feline Panleukopenia, a highly contagious viral disease. Also, about 22 deer succumbed at the park over a period of time due to bacterial infections and infighting.

Land encroachment

The loss of green cover around Bengaluru has been blamed as the reason for the man-animal conflict cases in the city.

According to Mr. Khandre, Bengaluru Urban had over 8,900 hectares of forest land, but about 2,800 acres of forest area around Bengaluru had been encroached upon. The Forest Minister said the government had registered over 1,000 cases and recovered 403 acres of forest land.