Centre clears leopard sterilisation plan in Maharashtra; project to start in Pune district
Pune (PTI): Amid growing concerns over leopard sightings and attacks on humans, the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has given nod to a Maharashtra government proposal seeking birth control of leopards in the state, officials said on Monday.
According to the forest department officials, approval to carry out sterilisation-based leopard population management programme has been granted on an experimental basis and the project will start in Pune's Junnar forest division.
"A proposal of the sterilisation-based population management programme was submitted to the Centre for 125 leopardesses last year. We have now got the approval to carry out the first-ever sterilisation-based leopard population management programme on an experimental basis on five leopardesses," said a senior forest department official.
A team of Wildlife Institute of India (WII) researchers, who have extensively monitored behaviour, population trends and conflict incidents involving the big cats in the Junnar forest division, had earlier suggested launching a controlled sterilisation initiative to curb the surge in leopard numbers, he stated.
"Following a detailed review of the proposal and comprehensive discussions with WII scientists, the ministry (MoEFCC) granted its approval. Their scientific evaluation was instrumental in finalising the plan for Junnar," the official noted.
Explaining the procedure of sterilisation, he said that immuno-contraception technique will be adopted for managing leopard population growth.
"Leopardesses will be captured and immuno-contraceptive will be injected to make them infertile," the official explained.
In over a month, three people have lost their lives in leopard attacks in Pune district's Shirur tehsil, which comes under the Junnar forest division. The spate of leopard attacks has sparked anger among people who recently torched a vehicle belonging to the forest department.
A "man-eater" leopard was killed by sharpshooters in Shirur tehsil in the first week of November.
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Elephant calf brought from Bijnor kept under care at Pilibhit Tiger Reserve
Pilibhit (PTI): A 19-day-old elephant calf, brought from Bijnor, was placed under care at the Pilibhit Tiger Reserve (PTR) on Sunday, an official said and added that the calf got separated from its mother in the forest area of Bijnor.
The calf was born on December 2 in the Bijnor forest area and got separated from its mother shortly after birth, the official said.
The forest department made several attempts to reunite it with its mother, but without any success. To ensure the calf's safety and better care, it was decided to transfer it to the Pilibhit Tiger Reserve on the instructions of senior officials.
On Saturday, Deputy Director Manish Singh received the calf. Special arrangements have been made in the reserve for its care. It has been kept in a safe and clean environment to provide it with a natural setting and protect it from external noise and disturbances.
Singh told reporters that raising an 19-day-old calf is challenging.
It requires a special diet as a substitute for mother's milk and constant monitoring.
He said a special team has been formed to provide 24-hour care. Since the calf is very young, it is being cared for like a newborn baby.
According to Singh, the primary responsibility for monitoring the calf's health has been entrusted to PTR's veterinarian, Dr Daksh Gangwar. Under his supervision, a complete record of the calf's health checkups, diet, and body temperature is being maintained. The team is ensuring that the calf does not contract any infection.
