Western Uttar Pradesh is experiencing an increasing number of human-leopard encounters, transforming agricultural landscapes into habitats for the predator. Incidents have occurred in close proximity to rivers, dense vegetation, and sugarcane fields, which offer concealment for leopards.
These encounters highlight that simply capturing individual leopards, a common response by the Forest Department, has not been effective in stopping human-leopard conflict. The landscape in western Uttar Pradesh, characterized by overlapping wildlife habitats and human settlements, along with factors like riverine vegetation and the dense cover of sugarcane crops, facilitates these interactions.
Over the past few years, particularly since 2019, leopard sightings and attacks have become more frequent, leading to significant human fatalities and public anxiety. Experts suggest that the issue is not just about “problem leopards” but about a broader transformation of the landscape where the distinction between wildlife habitats and human-use areas is blurring.
Source: Down To Earth