It’s the city that is treading into leopard territory, says Ravi Chellam

Leopard sightings in the city are making headlines almost every other day. DNA spoke to Ravi Chellam, country director, Wildlife Conservation Society – India, to find out why the big cats are seen prowling about in the IT city.

There is news that leopards are being spotted in the city. Is there any reason why leopards are moving towards Bangalore?
It is not a rare to spot leopards in Bangalore, considering the city is bordered by the Bannerghatta National Park, which houses several wildlife species. Also, keeping in mind that the city has seen a widespread property development, we have to understand that it is not the leopards that are moving close to the city, it’s us who are moving close to the leopard habitat. The city’s growth is not planned; it hasn’t taken into consideration the impact the development may have on wildlife.

There is more news on leopard spottings now than earlier. Why?
The population is large in the city suburbs. So more people are now able to spot leopards. For example, if there were only very few people and no electricity, chances of sighting a leopard at night is very low. Because more people have seen leopards, the media has also started  creating awareness in the city about this animal.

What would be the impact on a road  where leopards are known to be spotted? 
It depends on the size of the road, how it is constructed, and the density and speed of traffic using this road.  In general, roads are killers for wildlife, especially the smaller ones.  Large roads with lot of fast-moving traffic can be barriers for animal movement and act as death traps for wildlife animals. The highways are proving to be ‘death traps’ for leopards at night.

Bangalore south has seen cases of road-kill of leopards (on Nice Road) and leopard cubs being ‘abandoned’. How can Bangaloreans co-exist with leopards?
When Nice Road was planned and constructed, the needs of the wildlife were not taken into account. As a result, we are seeing leopards being killed on this road, particularly at nights.  Wildlife crossings and measures to control speed of vehicles in sections where wildlife occur, should have been a part of the design. I feel it is not too late now to incorporate wildlife crossings, which will enable the animals to safely cross the road.  If there is a will to reduce impact on wildlife and co-exist with them, there are ways of doing it.  Other cities, communities and countries have done it.  Cubs and young are never abandoned in the wild.  It is a misunderstanding on our part to think that when cubs are found alone, they are abandoned.  It is best not to capture or ‘rescue’ cubs from the wildlife.  It has no conservation value.

What is your stand on the recent incident of a leopard ‘stealing’ a hog deer from Bannerghatta two weeks ago?
Clearly, the leopard is only behaving in a manner that is perfectly in sync with nature. It saw a vulnerable prey and did a good job of it. The use of the term ‘stealing’ in this context is inappropriate and comes from a lack of understanding of ecology and behaviour of leopards.  Moreover, it was inappropriate to have set up a captive animal facility in an adjoining a wildlife habitat.  Poor planning has led to this incident.

After the hog deer incident, the zoo authorities have raised the height of walls. There has been news about the zoo security using solar fencing, bright lights, etc. Do you think these are recommended methods to deal with leopards?
It is our lack of planning that needs to be blamed. Bright lights and crackers will only disturb animals in captivity.  Ideally, no expansion should be allowed in Bannerghatta, as further conversion of natural habitats will create more problems for wildlife and has the potential to increase conflicts in the long run. Human activities and their impact on both captive wild animals and the free-ranging wildlife and their habitat have to be controlled effectively and completely stopped.

Does a leopard’s presence close to a human habitat indicate a dearth of food for the predator? 
No. As already stated, in this case, it is the city that is expanding into the leopard habitat.

Ravi Chellam Director,  Wildlife Conservation Society