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.
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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.
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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.