CHANDIGARH: In order to reduce the man-animal conflict in the region, the Haryana wildlife department has now decided to radio-collar the big cats to track their movements and to study their activities.
The state wildlife department has sent this proposal to Haryana chief secretary Keshni Anand Arora, sources said.
If the proposal is cleared, the wildlife department will start the process of putting radio collars on leopards.
It can then try to prevent the big cats from entering any populated areas in the state and if at all they enter they could be easily located and rescued.
An official of the department said that many leopards become man-eaters as they hunt dogs, humans. Installation of the collars can also help in the study of their hunting pattern, the official added.
It is learnt that there are around 100 leopards in the jungles of the state - Aravallis, Morni and Kalesar. Once these tags are fitted, there will be clarity on the number of leopards in the region. As of now, there are around 24 leopards in Kalesar jungle alone.
In January this year, a 10-month-old female leopard died after being hit by a vehicle on the Gurgaon-Faridabad road. While last year, approximately 35 leopards were spotted in Gurugram and its nearby areas.
In June this year, a two-year-old leopard was killed in Mandawar village few kilometres from Gurugram.
In July this year, a body of a four-year-old leopard was found in Uttamwala village on the outskirts of Kalesar wildlife sanctuary in Yamunanagar district.
The radio-collars project will also help in identifying major wildlife hot spots and managing local machineries.
As per data with the Wildlife Protection Society of India (WPSI) about 500 leopards have died in 2018 alone.
Wild Boar census in Punjab
A first-of-its-kind census of wild boars will be conducted in Punjab by the state wildlife department.
This move comes after farmers in the state reported losses due to the menace of wild boars and blue bulls, especially in Kandi area.
The Dehradun-based wildlife institute and other agencies will be involved for the scientific count.