A man was reportedly killed by a leopard in the Raiwala area near Dehradun early on Sunday morning. Believed to be the third such fatality caused by a leopard in the area in the recent past, the death on Sunday fuelled concern among the local residents. According to sources, Raiwala resident identified as Sunil had reportedly gone out to answer nature’s call early in the morning when is is believed to have been killed by a big cat.
The cops and forest department personnel also reached the site near Motichur range on discovery of the man’s body. This correspondent attempted to contact the Rajaji tiger reserve director Sanatan Sonkar but he could not be reached for further info on the incident.
Meanwhile, activists in the area state that the forst dept needs to curtail human incursion and activities in forest areas frequented by big cats and elephants among other wildlife.
They further state that considering the problems being encountered with leopards preying on domesticated animals frequently and also killing some people in the Raiwala and some other areas, the forest department should get an expert to study the situation and ascertain the factors triggering such a conflict scenario.
It is pertinent to mention here that on Dec 29, the department had trapped two leopards in the area.
Observers point out that simply placing cages and installing closed circuit television cameras alone will not resolve the human-leopard conflict.