Kerala has been witnessing a considerable decline in its leopard population as they faced the wrath of rapid development, habitat loss, and retaliatory killing by humans.
Presenting a dismal picture of the big cat population in the State, the fifth cycle of leopard population estimation found the population to have fallen from 650 (with a standard error of 28) in 2018 to 570 (with a standard error of 76) in 2022.
The Status of Leopards in India 2022, jointly prepared by the National Tiger Conservation Authority and Wildlife Institute of India, also detected 63% of leopards to live outside the protected areas in the State and recorded a surge in the number of human-wildlife cases in the Western Ghats landscape including several parts of Kerala.
The study sampled ten sites using camera traps that yielded 3,709 photo-captures of 270 individual leopards. While Periyar Tiger Reserve showed an increase in leopard population, Wayanad, and Malayattoor regions experienced a significant decrease.
Eravikulam National Park, Konni, Ranni, and Vazhachal exhibited consistently low leopard densities, according to the report.
Increase in human-wildlife conflicts
The number of human-wildlife conflict cases rose from 6,022 in 2015-16 to 10,036 in 2021-22.
While the northern districts from Kasaragod to Thrissur witnessed the most number of cases, the major conflict-prone area was identified as Wayanad North division, followed by Kannur, and Wayanad South division. The least number of incidents were reported from Parambikulam division.
Stressing on the need to closely monitor anthropogenic activities in the hotspots, the report recommended steps to understand the population dynamics of leopards and to adopt timely conservation interventions. This necessitated investigations into poaching, human-leopard conflicts and the status of co-predators.
P. Balakrishnan, head of the Department of Wildlife Biology, Kerala Forest Research Institute, pointed out there was no permanent solution to the unfolding crisis of human-animal conflicts.
However, the State should focus on mitigation efforts such as adopting predator-proof livestock and animal husbandry practices in forest fringe areas for a possible reduction in human-wildlife interactions. He proposed steps to prevent cattle from grazing in forests and constructing unbreachable safe sheds for livestock.
Waste management efforts should also be intensified in areas that have been witnessing littering of chicken and other wastes that attract stray dogs, which are considered easy prey for the big cats.
