look news india
Mumbai: Forest department data has revealed that tiger and leopard attacks have caused the highest number of deaths in human-wildlife conflict in Maharashtra. Human deaths due to leopard attacks have doubled in the last five years to 99 till March 2014. Leopards were more common in forests near human settlements in the state. Human-leopard conflict has increased in western Maharashtra since the 90s.
A report published in 2018 by the National Tiger Conservation Authority on the status of leopards, co-predators and megaherbivores in India estimated the leopard population in India's tiger range landscape to be 1,850 in 2018. There are 5,906 leopards spread across a 91.47 km long forest area of central India. This includes the semi-arid region of Rajasthan and the Deccan plate (Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Odisha).
The Sahyadri Hills of the North Western Ghats have been included in Central India to prevent the state of Maharashtra from being divided into two landscapes. The estimated population of leopards in Maharashtra is shown as 1690 with standard ghosts.
The leopard population in Maharashtra can be divided into three regions. Vidarbha includes most of the tiger reserves i.e. Bor, Tadoba-Andhari, Navegaon-Nagzira, Pench and Melghat along with sanctuaries and large forest areas like Penganga, Tipeshwar, Umred, Karahlana, Chandrapur, Madhya Chanda, Wardha, Yavatmal and Gadchiroli. High densities of leopards were recorded in Navegaon-Nagazira, Melghat and Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserves. Leopards were sighted in the forest divisions of Junnar, Ahmednagar, Malegaon and Nashik.
The forest department said that the number of leopards in the state is not only increasing but they are also establishing their habitat in new areas. According to the data, till March 2014, 15 people have died in leopard attacks in the state. According to the data, 391 humans have died due to wild animals between March 2019 and March 2024. While 239 deaths have been caused by tiger attacks, other animals include bear (12), elephant (9), gaur (8), bison (2), nilgai (2), crocodile (1), wolf (2), wild boar (8). And this also includes undetermined deaths.
According to the state's Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife), the forest department is making efforts to reduce human-animal conflict. But due to the increasing number of animals, it has become challenging to avoid human-animal conflict. The number of tigers has increased from 312 in 2018 to 444 in 2018. While the number of leopards in the state has increased from 1670 to 1995 during the same period.