The movement of only one of the eight leopards that were relocated to Kaimara, the core area of Nagarahole National Park, from Mysore, has been traced.
This has caused concern as these schedule-I listed animal cannot adjust to the new habitat.
Wildlife experts and naturalist have termed the translocation as unscientific and an offence as the leopards cannot adjust with new food habits and habitats after they were let into core areas such as Kaimara in Antharasanthe, DB Kuppe Range of Nagarahole National Park.
In the last few months, one leopard each was caught from Mahadevanagar, N R Mohalla, Arasinakere and the farm house of litterateur Devanur Mahadeva and two each from Gowrishankar Nagar, from the Chamundi foothills, BEML premises and outskirts of the city, a forest official said.
Most of these were old leopards, he added.
Urbanisation and development of layouts are forcing leopards to stray into the city to prey on domestic animals, he said.
When asked about the Forest Department officials failure to provide any update on the leopards after it was let into the forest, wildlife experts raised concern about its survival.
They suspect these animals would have died in their quest of new territory in the border areas of Kerala.
Citing an incident, environmentalist K M Chinnappa said Ullas Karanth, director of WCS, had monitored the movement of a leopard which was let into Nagarahole National Park after it was caught in Nanjangud in the 1990’s.
Karanth noticed that the leopard was in the same place for about a week and later it was not found as it might have died or got killed in a territorial fight, he said.
Chinnappa advised the forest authorities to tag radio collars to leopards as these animals find it very difficult to adjust and get prey as well as have problem of infighting.
Such leopards often fall easy prey to wild dogs and tigers, he said.
Chief Wildlife Warden Dipak Sarmah admitted that the Forest Department is not monitoring the movement of translocated leopards.
“As we cannot let the leopard live in the residential area where it was caught, it is inevitable for us to let them in the forest,” he said.
Another expert refuted the argument saying that the authorities are not serious about such issues.