As an international research paper published in noted UK-based scientific journal PeerJ points out 75 per cent loss of leopard habitats across the world, conservationists have raised concerns over the negligence towards extensive leopard activity taking place outside the protected areas of Mumbai, Junnar, Ahmednagar and Konkan belt and other districts of the state. Experts confirmed that the encroachment activities and lack of policies drafted for areas outside protected forest will result in more cases of man-animal conflict, risking the very existence of the species. In Aarey Colony alone, more than 28 conflict cases have been reported over the past decade.
The researchers collected the data from protected forests across the world with 6,000 records at 2,500 locations and from over 1,300 sources. The data showed that the leopard that originally lived across nearly 35,000,000 square kilometre (3.5 crore) is now confirmed present in only 25 per cent of this area. At the same time, the 173 present patches cover merely 8,500,000 square kilometre (85 lakh) now. The leopards are already listed as vulnerable on the IUCN red list due to the declining numbers and habitat loss.
Discussing the paper, Vidya Athreya, researcher, biologist and the country’s most noted expert on man-leopard conflict, said that while she is concerned about the information released by the paper, she added that ground realities in vicinities that are outside the protected areas can be much worse. “The researchers have focused on leopard activities inside protected forest but most part of animal activity is reported in villages and padas outside protected forests. Sadly, the negligence of policy-makers to consider habitat loss of leopards outside protected forests like Aarey Colony and Junnar result in ignorance of the broader issue,” said Ms Athreya,
According to the data released by Sanjay Gandhi National Park officials in 2014, a total of 28 man-leopard conflicts in the vicinity resulted in as many leopards being trapped and rescued from 2004-2014. Ms Athreya added that the lack of data on the range loss of animals outside protected areas is resulting in increase in man-leopard conflicts, ignorance towards poaching activities and ultimately diminishing numbers of the species.
The PeerJ research paper backs up her point and has mentioned the sub-species of leopard fusca, found in south Asia, is noted as ‘the most threatened,’ only after their West and South African relatives. A more worrying point is that the range loss in Asia has been around 83–87 per cent for fucsa with India having the largest concentration of the sub-species with 76 per cent.
Conservationists are pointing out the necessity to safeguard the subspecies (fucsa) as well because India has the largest concentration of the same among Bangladesh (3%), Bhutan (1%), China (2%), Myanmar (7%), Nepal (4%) and Pakistan (7%). Loss of the habitat and diminishing number of the species in the country might be hinting at the future extinction of the subspecies itself from the nine present subspecies across the world.
