40 panthers males, out of 45 incidents of man-animal conflict in Rajasthan

The recent spurt in Human-animal conflict in the state wherein the majority of cases have occurred due to leopards straying into human habitations have brought to fore a stark discovery. Of the 45 incidents of leopards straying out of sanctuaries and into human habitation over the course of the past three years, 40 felines were males. The discovery has puzzled conservationists who are not sure about the reasons as to why the animals are straying out of forest areas when there is no dearth of food or shelter.

When felines like Tigers, Leopards reach around two years of age, their mothers start chasing them away from their own territory so that they can carve a territory of their own. As a result, the felines move away from the area of their birth and establish their own territory. Sometimes it also happens that the cub ousts their mothers as well, however, that seldom happens. And with the number of cubs in any litter is around 2-3 cubs, the chances of cubs being chased out become more.

“Since 2016, there have been nearly four dozen incidents where panthers have strayed near or inside human habitations. The rescue team of forest department had to be called into the rescue of animals. In some incidents like the one that occurred on Tuesday at Churu, an angry mob killed the feline too but in the majority of cases, we were able to reach the spot in time and save the feline. It is interesting to note here that 40 of these rescued felines have turned out to be males which is an interesting find considering males are aggressive than females and can easily overpower them to establish a territory in any forest area,” officials said.

The find has baffled experiences officers and conservationists alike. “The law of the jungle states the one with greater power might get to stay. In this case, where a huge majority of animals are males, it is surprising. While male and female cubs both get chased out, males can dominate two or three females and carve out their territory. But if males are coming out of the jungles it could also mean that there is not a natural balance in the number of males to females as these males could be those that are being driven out by other more dominant males,” said Tejvir Singh, former IFS officer.

Officials suspect there could be a dearth of small game for leopards due to which they are going out of forests. “Targeting a goat or dog or even a donkey is easier as compared to bringing down a wild animal,” Singh said.