Fact-finding team points out lapses in dealing with leopard attacks at Pandalur in Nilgiris

UDHAGAMANDALAMA fact-finding team releases recommendations to minimize human-leopard interactions, including adherence to NTCA SOPs and land rights settlement.

A fact-finding team, that was looking into steps that could have been taken by the forest department to minimize loss of life caused by a leopard that attacked and killed two persons, including a 4-year-old child in Pandalur in Gudalur forest division has released a list of recommendations which it hopes would help deal with future negative human-animal interactions.

The team, comprising Kannaiyan Subramaniam, President of the Thalavady Farmers Association, K. Mohanraj, an environmentalist and member of the People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) and R. Vennila, a volunteer with the Thalavady Farmers Association, visited the families of one of the victims who was attacked by a leopard, leading to her death a week later from her injuries, as well as the families of three others who were injured by the same leopard. The team also met or spoke to top forest department officials, including Conservator of Forests (Nilgiris), D. Venkatesh, Divisional Forest Officer (Gudalur), Kommu Omkaram, field staff from the forest department, Gudalur MLA, Pon Jeyaseelan and local activists.

While interviewing the family of one of the victims, Saritha, her family claimed that there was a delay in transferring her to the Coimbatore Medical College and Hospital (CMCH), which they say could have contributed to her death a week after the incident. They also found that Saritha and another victim, Thoonga, did not have adequate toilet facilities in their houses, leading to them having to venture out into the open to defecate and relieve themselves.

Some of the observations made by the team was that the forest department had deemed the first few attacks, where three women were injured as “accidental attacks” by the leopard. “When the three attacks happened on the first day on December 21, 2023, they happened at three separate locations. When analysing the gender of the victims, the age, attack location and time period, it shows that the attacks were deliberate,” said Mr. Subramaniam, when contacted by The Hindu.

They also stated that following the attacks on the three women, that permission should have been immediately given by the Chief Wildlife Warden to tranquilize and capture the leopard, which could have prevented the death of four-year-old Nancy on January 6, more than two weeks after the first round of attacks on people by the leopard.

The team recommended that the forest department should adhere to the Standard Operating Procedures of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) when dealing with problematic tigers and leopards. They also recommended that the land rights of the adivasi people be settled in accordance with the Forest Rights Act, the need for establishing a comprehensive scientific database for leopards, continuous camera surveillance of wild animals in vulnerable interface areas, preventing open defecation and open dumping of chicken and animal waste near human settlements, strengthening the forest department’s Rapid Response Team and streamlining payment and disbursal of compensation to the families of the victims.