Wild Leopards on Human Killing Spree in Bombay
By Jayashree Lengade July 5, 2004

BOMBAY (Reuters) - As rampant population growth blurs the divide between city and countryside, it appears man is not even safe from nature's predators in the middle of the world's fifth-largest metropolis.

Leopards have killed 14 people this year, and 10 last month alone, in Bombay -- a city unique in that it almost entirely surrounds a verdant forest.

On Sunday night an 18-year-old was dragged from the hut where he slept and a 50-year-old priest was mauled near a temple on the outskirts of Sanjay Gandhi National Park, a 40-square-mile forest in the northern part of India's financial capital.

"This is a conservation disaster. We have to study why the animal is coming out. It never came out before," said J.C. Daniel, 73, former director of the Bombay Natural History Society who has tracked forest fauna for 40 years.

Only last year, a 4-year-old boy was killed when a leopard scaled the wall of a housing complex and dragged him away while he was playing in the garden.

The leopard problem goes to the heart of a debate about population growth and expansion in a metropolis that the United Nations says is home to more than 16 million people.

Environmentalists blame a shortage of prey in the forest, which forces an estimated 35 leopards living in an area 30 times the size of New York's Central Park to hunt in the city.

Bombay's national park is within just a few miles of several factories and the epicenter of its huge Bollywood movie industry.

And in a solution that could be out of a film script, officials plan to start releasing around 500 pigs and dozens of rabbits in the forest in the hopes that will satisfy the hunger of the big cats.

For more than two years, leopards have hunted dogs, cats and even poultry raised by tribal groups living on the park's edge. But it is the attacks on humans that grab the city's attention.

Daniel noted Californians face a similar problem with cougars, though recorded attacks are few and tend to occur near sparsely populated suburbs and not in crowded urban spaces.

A tribal man's body was recently found mutilated outside the hut where he slept, while a 55-year-old lawyer was mauled during a morning walk in the deep jungle.

The forest's 100-odd ancient Buddhist caves and stone carvings are a big tourist attraction and its scenic hills are popular with trekkers, even though large parts remain off-limits.

"Villagers move in with buffalos, chicken, fowl and their pets. Naturally they become easy prey," said Ashok Khot, senior forest secretary for the western state of Maharashtra, of which Bombay is the capital.

"The problem lies with people, they are stepping into the land that belongs to animals," Khot said, blaming encroachments by both rich and poor in posh high-rises and slums near the park.

It is illegal to kill leopards, an endangered species in Africa and Asia often hunted for their spotted fur.

So wildlife experts wearing armor and helmets keep a close watch on the forest edge, while rangers have set up nearly two dozen cages at strategic places to trap and relocate the animals.

One member of a team of rangers was badly injured, though not killed, by a leopard on Monday. Later that evening, rangers trapped three leopards believed to have killed people. Officials say they suspect there could be many more on the prowl.

"We cannot say the problem is over yet. We will continue with our combing operations," said S.W. Upasane, an officer at the forest's control room.

People living near the forest are no less nervous. At dusk they set off fire-crackers to scare animals in bushes. They have also set up bright lights and only leave their homes in groups.

It is illegal to kill leopards, an endangered species in Africa and Asia often hunted for their spotted fur.

Wow, there are a LOT of criminals on this website!! Actually, you can still shoot asian leopards in Iran although I don't know which hunting method is used.

Oh how soon we forget. Once a cat turns maneater, no amount of pigs, cats, dogs, cows or whatever else they don't eat over there will satiate those leopards. jorge

I would think the leopards prey has been poached to non-existence in the park so they are turning to something easier. Maybe pigs will avoid poachers intentions.

That and the fact that the older more experienced animals are in the prime areas pushing the younger ones into the less desireable areas. Naturally with less prey and more contact with humans..... Sounds like California as well

NX-

I was struck by their choice of animals too. Cows would be safe from man, but a little large for a leopard. Also distasteful to send one to its death if you revere it I guess. Will Hindus not eat pork? How about rabbit? I am told that McDonalds serves lamburgers in India because it's one meat the two major religious groups don't mind eating.

H. C.

Oos, my mistake. I'm sure Hindus do eat pork (?) but not beef. Muslims won't eat pork but will eat beef. Jains don't eat anything. Unless someone corrects me above.

I think rabbits (and pigs) because the breed up numbers quickly.

Henry C 470,
It is only the upper caste Hindus who don't eat beef. India's ban on slaughtering cows is also only aimed at preventing cows young enough to provide milk and reproduce. Bulls can be slaughtered. The ban was brought in by a Hindu fascist government which has since been voted out, though the law stays... Dickens' belief that "the law is an ass" is probably truer in India than in other countries.
Macdonalds and Pizza Hut serve only lamb and chicken in India because they have to target the Muslim and Hindu fanatics. Beef, incidentally, is India's cheapest meat and is mostly eaten by the poor - something that was a bit of a culture shock to my wife when she first went shopping for meat at Copps here and found it considerably more expensive than other meat.

Good hunting!

Mehulkamdar:

Surely there must be experienced Indian hunters who could set a trap for this beast and shoot him? I suppose a leopard is clever but is he any more clever than a tiger?

Mehul,
Gosh! Here I've always thought that the beef recipes in my Indian Cook Book were aimed at the Muslim population and ex-pat Brits. What a surprise . . . I guess there's nothing like having someone right there on the ground with proper info to set the record straight. Hmmmm, it must come as a shock to our immigrant population here, too, that in the U.S. beef ain't cheap!

If it moves, eat it. If it don't move, kick it, then eat it!

Mehul: none taken ol' chap. I just wasn't clear. It's not that they will eschew all other prey in lieu of humans, but once they do turn man-eater, that becomes their meat of choice. I am not an expert, but perhaps I've been reading the wrong things. jorge

oldsarge

Of course you are right. It is a ludicrous attitude to me and animals and plants exist for humankind to manage and use wisely.

NitroX,

My mother's family are Jains but I guess I should say that enlightenment has dawned on them and most eat meat very happily.
Some of the Jain fanatics seem to ignore the fact that the founder of the religion, Mahavira Jina was a meat eater himself and enjoyed eating chicken.
Your Jain friend was honest about enjoying hunting and I am sure that most Jains would enjoy it if they tried it. Indeed, I am sure, most anti-hunters would enjoy it too if they went hunting once!

Good hunting!

Go Leopards!!!

We breed like locusts...

s