Nod to `eliminate' tea garden leopard

TT, 29 January 2019, Alipurduar: The chief wildlife warden of the state has granted permission to "eliminate" a leopard that has attacked four children and killed three in tea gardens of the Birpara-Madarihat block of Alipurduar district in the past one-and-half months.

"I have received a proposal from an official of our department in north Bengal that the leopard has turned dangerous for human life and property. I have gone through all reports and issued the permission to eliminate the animal. Our staff will start searching for it and will initially try to tranquillise it so that it can be shifted to an enclosure. However, if the animal cannot be darted, it will be shot," said Ravi Kant Sinha, the chief wildlife warden.

Last Sunday, Ujjwal Ghosh, the chief conservator of forests (wildlife, north), had sent a proposal to Sinha saying the animal needs to be "eliminated." He had mentioned that the animal's presence in the block and its attacks on humans as a prey has left the population of at least four tea gardens, where the animal had attacked children, vulnerable.

"It is probably for the first time in our state that a decision has been made to eliminate a leopard by caging it or killing it. Given its recent hunting trends, it cannot be released in open as then the population dwelling nearby can face similar attacks," said a forest official.

According to forest sources, three expert shooters would be engaged for the work. So far, the department had laid traps in the tea gardens and had engaged teams with dart guns to prevent any attack.

"But now that the permission has been issued, we will not wait any longer and will start searching for the animal. Once it is sighted, attempts would be made to dart it or else, it would be shot," the official added.

Wildlife conservationists however, said that foresters should refrain from killing it. "The animal has killed three children and injured two others. Even then, killing the animal is not the solution. We believe foresters have the expertise to dart and cage it," said Animesh Bose, member, State Wild Life Advisory Board..