DEHRADUN: Amid a sharp rise in human-wildlife conflict, the Uttarakhand Forest Department has authorised the killing of 13 leopards and three bears identified as habitual attackers posing a serious threat to human life.
Forest officials said the animals had repeatedly entered inhabited areas and were linked to attacks on residents. Orders to shoot them were issued only after attempts to tranquilise and capture them proved unsuccessful, they added.
"These animals have been sighted in populated areas several times and have attacked people. Such behaviour appears to have become habitual," a department official said. "Elimination has been permitted only as a last resort."
According to Forest Department sources, action is currently underway in 117 human-wildlife conflict cases across different forest divisions. Rescue teams have been deployed to capture or monitor 89 leopards, 21 tigers and eight bears considered potentially dangerous.
Officials said the frequency of aggressive encounters involving bears had risen unexpectedly, with several recent incidents causing deaths, injuries and damage to property.
Under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, a protected wild animal cannot ordinarily be killed. The prescribed response is to first attempt tranquillisation, capture and relocation. A shooting order can be issued by the Chief Wildlife Warden only when an animal continues to endanger human life and efforts to capture it have failed.
The scale of the crisis is reflected in official figures. Forest Department data show that 327 people have been killed in wildlife attacks in Uttarakhand over the past decade, with leopards accounting for the largest share of fatalities. Hundreds of people are also injured in such encounters every year.
Experts attribute the worsening conflict to expanding settlements near forests, encroachment on wildlife habitats, declining prey availability, and the easy availability of livestock, garbage and food waste around villages.
Forest fires and growing human activity are also believed to be pushing wild animals towards urban and semi-urban settlements, creating a struggle for survival for both wildlife and local communities.
Wildlife expert and former Uttarakhand Forest Department Deputy Director Ranganath Pandey said competition among predators also influences their movement.
"A tiger does not tolerate a leopard within its territory. When a tiger grows old and can no longer compete effectively with younger animals, it begins looking for easier prey, including smaller animals and, at times, people near settlements," Pandey told the TNIE.
"The leopard, on the other hand, is highly adaptable and opportunistic. It can survive on discarded or decomposing food and even eggshells. Its movement into residential areas is, therefore, not unusual," he added.
The orders have placed renewed focus on Uttarakhand's challenge of protecting vulnerable communities while ensuring that lethal action against wildlife remains strictly a measure of last resort.