Uttarakhand forest dept ropes in hunter to kill ‘maneater’ leopard in Pithoragarh

After clamping night curfew, the Uttarakhand forest department has now roped in hunter Harish Dhami to kill the maneater leopard in Pithoragarh district. The hunter is trying to track the leopard in Bajeti, Papdev, Paun areas of the district. The leopard was declared maneater on September 25, after it killed an eight-year-old girl in Bajeti area, officials said.

Vinay Bhargav, divisional forest officer Pithoragarh, said the hunter has been called to eliminate the problematic leopard which has created terror in the area.

Bhargav said after the leopard killed an eight-year-old girl in Bajeti ward of the town, the forest department had installed a cage near the place. “A leopard was trapped there but after taking samples of its stool and urine we found it was not a maneater as there was no trace in the samples of it having consumed human flesh. Then we freed it in Ramnagar forests last week,” he said.

He said there are two or more leopards that have been spotted in the area since the incident occurred.

“I will try my best to eliminate the leopard which is attacking people here. I am already trying to track it in the affected areas”, said hunter Harish Dhami who has eliminated many leopards in the last 10 years.

On September 30, the Pithoragarh administration had extended the night curfew by a week in the leopard-haunted areas of the district till October 6 after the leopard movement was again reported near residential areas.

On September 23, in a bid to avoid man-animal conflict, night curfew was clamped in half a dozen villages in Pithoragarh district after an eight-year-old girl was dragged and killed by a leopard in Bajeti village adjoining the district headquarters. After this incident, a cage was installed in the village and a leopard was caught.

Man-leopard conflict is a major problem in the state. Since the formation of the state, over 800 people have been killed in the man-wildlife conflict. Deaths due to leopard attacks account for nearly half of the total deaths, as per the data of the state forest department. As per the records of the state forest department, the last state-wide leopard estimation exercise was conducted in 2008, when the state reported 2335 leopards.