AR-News: (India) Peace with the PANTHER

[Animalara2003 at aol.com]

Mumbia Newsline
Friday , June 25, 2004
The city has not had a ‘leopard problem’ for over 100 years. But in the past 
five or six years, attacks have increased. Short and long-term steps must be 
taken instantly to eliminate the problem. 
Main reasons for human-wild animal conflict at the Sanjay Gandhi National 
Park, Borivali:Increasing human settlements have come up inside and adjacent to 
the national park.
Disturbance by humans inside the forest, which leads to a drop in the 
population of prey such as wild boar, sambar, chital, barking deer, monkeys, 
blacknaped hares, squirrels and ground birds.
Dumping of organic garbage by residents of skyscrapers and slums. This 
attracts animals and leads to the proliferation of stray dogs, which causes leopards 
to leave the forest in search of easy food. 


Short-term steps to reduce the human-wild animal conflict:
A dusk-to-dawn curfew for kids. No lone pedestrians at vulnerable points at 
any time of day.
Night watch by rotation by security guards or by elders equipped with with 
fire crackers and hooters, drums, etc. In make-shift dwellings, ‘‘noise makers
’’—bells, cans, rattles—should be placed on doors and fences to startle cats.
Lights (can run on solar energy) at vulnerable points.
 


full story:
http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=89008 




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"It is as if life had said, 'I am going to send you into a world of cruelty. 
I shall make you sensitive to pain, fear, heat, cold, hunger and starvation. 
In this world of cruelty, I shall make you defenseless. In addition, I shall 
strike you dumb.' This is the kind of world that animals are born into." - Grace 
Johnson, Animal Activist
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