The post below the image was written in response to the article
Leopards preying on humans in U’khand: WII study
and I also published it at Facebook if you wish to comment.
More help is needed if we are truly serious about coexisting with the leopard.
It doesn't matter if it is nearly 6 and a half million years old, when a species is killing people it's pretty much game over from that point as to how that animal is perceived. But not always. Baby elephants, rhinos or tigers running to mummy have the cute and cuddly support groups going gaga, yet elephants kill as many people as leopards do, many more in some areas.
As I've also mentioned six billion times before it's much better for your profile if you are a species which shows off in front of tourists because that makes moooooooooooooooney, yes, I wrote mooooooooooooooney. Or if you are ghost like, spirit like, mysterious like the snow leopard, another rock star everyone wants to love... and snow leopards don't attack people, let alone tourists (or tourism operators).
But panthera pardus, the leopard, falls into another hemisphere when it comes into perception. Because it is so secretive, so clever and because it does kill (not just people but a lot of livestock), outside "natural" prey along with the other dynamics I've mentioned above, it's a very difficult animal to get support for.
The study referred to in the article (click on 'Leopards Preying on Humans' link at top of page) is relevant to what is happening on this side of the border here in western Nepal as Uttarakhand is our neighbour. There's no doubt some of the same leopards have crossed the border and killed people here, and vice versa. This behaviour is something I am trying to understand and my own research will keep going until at least 2022 but in the meantime mitigation strategies related to certain areas have to continue, and dealing with maneaters is an extremely complicated issue. The transit area I am building is something I see as a destination point for extracted maneaters there's a fair bit of work to go to get to that point but it can be done.
In the meantime how many more human lives will be lost? How many more leopards are killed in retaliation?
I've mentioned many times before the factors at play here. Poverty, wildlife trade, big org politics, poor wildlife understandings and misplaced perceptions are parts of this deadly serious situation. As mentioned in the article, where the leopard has little else to eat, this learned behaviour (of maneaters) suddenly becomes a deadly dynamic because certain cats start to act in this way even when there is enough natural prey.
The leopard is losing its grip on its territories, it is slowly being wiped out and this behaviour pattern of leopards becoming maneaters doesn't help, yet the animal simply sees us as another primate, which we are.
One of the most finely tuned, adaptable and clever species nature has produced has collided with us in many places in its range and every day, whether I'm in the jungle or interviewing families of victims who have lost loved ones or livestock, working with rehab leopards or following up illegal trade situations, I ask myself what the ultimate outcome will be. I don't know... except that if support does not lift, it won't be good...
Appended - Bull sharks and leopards, similar perceptions...
And re the last post, at the moment I'm communicating with a friend who studies inland ecosystems mainly based around eagles but does include bull sharks in Australia. This species will travel many kilometres up rivers and can survive in fresh water. I've discovered over the last few years some key similarities re perceptions of leopards and sharks when human lives are taken. Like leopards, bull sharks are highly adaptable and that attribute means behaviour change comes easily. This means that there is an unpredictability combined with the "unseen" element helping trigger the primal fears we have of these types of animals.
As I mentioned in the post I would rather see maneater leopards extracted than shot dead. Identifying the correct leopard is another factor, it's impossible to know how many leopards have been killed "under suspicion" thus affecting territorial balance.
The whole issue needs a lot more understanding but as I also mentioned the immediate safety of both people and leopards needs to be supported much more than it is at the moment.
