Soon, the untold story of the powerful "Spotted Tiger" at Leopard Camp...

This post is at Facebook (along with other updates) if you wish to comment.

I'm ultra busy with human - leopard co-existence issues at the moment so I'm behind in my comms, I ask people to be patient if I haven't got back to them yet.

Soon I'll tell of a situation I've never spoken about.  The reason I kept it quiet for so long is I didn't want people to be alarmed plus I didn't want to threaten the safety of the leopards involved.  Just for now though, those who followed the story of the leopard Asa's rewilding will remember how very reluctantly I had to twice cage the young leopard for a night at a time in the weeks leading up to when we finally separated.  This was because of increased human activity in the area, it was a very stressful time.  What I didn't say, and adding to the stress, was that there was a large powerful leopard in the area.  A series of camera trap images and my own encounter with this "spotted tiger" are part of the story at a time when I felt totally in tune with the jungle... but always conscious that there was formidable wildlife there far more attuned than me.  The incredible cunning of leopards has been brought home to me many times and another case study last week where a leopard snatched a six year boy made me think about Asa's and my
 time with the powerful leopard you can see in the images.  More soon...

#Human #tiger #leopard - serious conflict on a daily basis...

As I mentioned yesterday, I'm working in a serious conflict zone today  but here's a KP report on the latest loss of human life in Baitadi and some news from Uttar Pradesh (UP) of a tiger killing two people in 24 hours.

Via @WildTigerNews:

#India #HumanWildlifeConflict - Fear grips Uttar Pradesh village as #tiger kills 2 in 24 hrs http://toi.in/NBK83Y 

#Nepal - 26th victim in 4 years in region, death of 7-yr-old in #leopard attack rekindles fears among Baitadi folks http://bit.ly/2b7yzUJ 

Uttarakhand, UP and Nepal, all of the same region, are high conflict areas.  Big cats move over borders through these areas.  Genetic databases, conflict kits and better safety through infrastructure (plus education) are requirements across a vast region.  Economic factors play a large part in this and I'll say it for the millionth time, #poverty alleviation to help provide the infrastructure is key.

Human - Leopard conflict: More deaths on both sides...

Two more people killed by leopards in last thirty six hours in South Asia, including a six year old girl in Baitadi, west Nepal. On average it seems to be about one human fatality a week but it's worrying that not all get reported, particularly in India. We're also getting more and more data about killings of leopards here in Nepal not ending up in getting reported to authorities. Every day data comes through. Tomorrow morning I'm back in a high conflict zone where several children have been taken. Anti conflict implementation and training of locals the key. A lot of field work over next few weeks... months, years...

These posts are at Facebook (along with other updates) if you wish to comment.

Seeing through the eyes of wildlife...

I was up very early this morning writing in the chapter "I want to see a tiger"..."Yes but does the tiger want to see you" when a couple of articles came up and then got tweeted at @WildTigerNews:

Over-exploitation is the biggest threat to wildlife 

Civilization threatens wildlife more than climate

I guess those who truly care about this stuff will check out the articles but one of my own real concerns is the lack of thinking about the right of wildlife to live privately.  This has been an ever deepening subject matter for me especially over the last fifteen years.  Living with the leopard Asa and doing my best to see the world through his eyes, it certainly altered my vision.  Concentrating intently on understanding his reactions (when humans were about) really confirmed many of the thoughts I've had about wildlife tourism, scientific research as well as the exploitation mentioned in the two articles.

I'm not going into details now but one of the stories for my book is a discussion with a friend of mine, a Frenchman, six years ago. He was telling me of his passion for tribal masks and of an island where these masks have deep cultural importance.  When I asked Bastian when he will go to this island he replied that he never will, he cares too much to taint the place further, many tourists visit there already.

I've only ever had two people say to me similar answers when talking about their respect for wildlife.  It's a complex subject and is the theme of the chapter but in many ways is trying to understand the essence of the inward thinking of humans... at a time when we really need to be thinking outwardly, seeing through the eyes of others, including wildlife...

This post is also at Facebook (along with other updates) if you wish to comment.

"Living with Leopards" concept update coming soon.

Thanks for visiting this blog page.  These posts can also be found at Facebook (along with other updates) if you wish to comment.  I'll be updating about the "Living with Leopards" concept soon as we attempt to further improve human - leopard conflict mitigation strategy.

Another dead leopard, representative of a nation's struggles...

An early morning message (image via Ganesh Puri, District Forest Office) a couple of days ago telling of a dead leopard found in Lamjung came as no surprise. It's another incident in an ongoing situation. Cause of death was unknown and due to the location a full post mortem was not possible. It was a young cat, two to three years old and sometimes because of lack of resources it's not possible to ascertain if the fatality is the result of a conflict situation.

Anyone who reads these blogs knows that human - leopard conflict is an every day occurrence here in South Asia. Information coming through is constant, at @WildTigerNews (www.twitter.com/wildtigernews) we've just tweeted "Leopard Fear Spreads In Valparai And Kundadam Villages" which is a typical situation. WildTiger tries to verify this type of news as much as possible so we don't tweet everything that ends up in media. It irks that some orgs do, even though many of them are not even on the same continent.

Sensationalism can ignore truth.

Saying that though does not dilute the problem. Misreporting is often due to a lack of understanding of leopard behaviour and these marginalized cats, just like the scenarios for many of the marginalized people living among them, are victims of a lack of knowledge which in itself can result in spreading more fear.

Some facts are indisputable though. The deaths of over thirty people in yet another awful bus accident tragedy yesterday in Kavre, a high leopard conflict area we've got case studies in, was sobering. It was one of two accidents yesterday, four people died in Baitadi. This sort of news comes through a lot along with the endless dramas at this time of the year, monsoon means floods and landslides, tragic for people and wildlife.

Nepal's tough terrain and climatic conditions combined with political and economic woes means an often deadly cocktail. A young Nepali spending time on a training course in South India messaged me last night telling how surprised she is at how much more developed India is than Nepal. I wrote back that it was positive she can now make the comparison, it shows what is possible. Sush Maa, with her fighting spirit as always, wrote back how much she wants to help things improve here.

When the image of the dead leopard in Lamjung came through I could not help feel it was representative of a nation's struggles. I'm attuned to this type of news, it's part of the gig and shortly I'm back in a zone where several children have been taken by leopards. The sad thing about that is that once again, it's the marginalized who suffer the most. I'll keep banging on about it but we're in a holding situation until issues such as poverty are truly addressed. Until then, the images, the conflicts, the tragedies will keep rolling on.

I wonder when the world will wake up...

The marginalization of #wildlife and communities...

“Illegal trafficking is organized crime. Poaching is just an effect. People keep talking about the poachers because they’re more visible, while the real problem is that the cartels are too powerful. It has little to do with actual animals; it’s more about money.”

A recent quote from Ofir Drori. Amen to that. There is a lot of misunderstanding about the whole dynamic. My own experience, research and actions have discovered communities who are, and it's a word I'll be using a lot - DISENFRANCHISED. Manipulation and corruption by authorities, mafias, businesses and NGOs using everyday platforms (including social media) has effectively meant that marginalized communities are becoming more so. This flows through that the other main entity involved in this mess, ‪#‎wildlife‬, is becoming more marginalized as well.