SURAT: If you count the number of leopards caught here, this orchard in Vareli village is enough to host a mini leopard safari in Mandvi taluka of Surat district. It isn't so, rues owner Sohel Shaikh, from whose farm the 38th big cat was trapped on Thursday, thereby, breaking its own previous record in the past 10 years.
Vareli is the same village where a leopard was shot by the forest department in 2011 on suspicion of it turning into a man-eater. Shaikh, 24, who manages the farm, lived at his farm at night to ensure crop security besides farm infrastructure. But not any more. He started satying at his home in Vareli at night since the past four years after he spotted eight leopards prowling on his farm in one single night.
Frequent leopard movement in his farm has also gave Shaikh other headaches — like labourers refusing to work on his ‘cat-infested’ farm. Thus disadvantaged, Shaikh replaced sugarcane, an entirely labour dependent crop, with mango plantation.
‘Leopards visit farm during daytime now’
After harvesting sugarcane two months ago, I planted mango saplings this time as this will require lesser number of labourers. Sugarcane and banana farming, which I used to grow alternatively, is largely labour dependent,” Sohel Shaikh explained.
“Labourers now know that leopards visit the farm even during daytime now. They flatly refuse to work in my farm or come anywhere near it,” Shaikh lamented. Leopards have caused huge damage to Shaikh’s farm including killing several pairs of chicken worth around Rs 25,000 each, which he had brought specifically for breeding purposes. Besides the foul business, the big cats have also killed a pair of Doberman dogs, a pair of Rottweiler dogs and a few goats too.
Frustrated, Shaikh took his only horse home in the village to ensure its safety besides installing iron grille all around his farm house as leopard-proof measures.
The farm is surrounded by dense forest and rivulets that provide the big cats a perfect hideout, explain forest officials.
“Due to suitable conditions leopards prefer the forest and farms around Vareli. We take precautionary measures to ensure that there is no man-animal or leopard-animal conflicts,” said Puneet Nayyar, deputy conservator of forest.
Vareli is the same village where a leopard was shot by the forest department in 2011 on suspicion of it turning into a man-eater. Shaikh, 24, who manages the farm, lived at his farm at night to ensure crop security besides farm infrastructure. But not any more. He started satying at his home in Vareli at night since the past four years after he spotted eight leopards prowling on his farm in one single night.
Frequent leopard movement in his farm has also gave Shaikh other headaches — like labourers refusing to work on his ‘cat-infested’ farm. Thus disadvantaged, Shaikh replaced sugarcane, an entirely labour dependent crop, with mango plantation.
‘Leopards visit farm during daytime now’
After harvesting sugarcane two months ago, I planted mango saplings this time as this will require lesser number of labourers. Sugarcane and banana farming, which I used to grow alternatively, is largely labour dependent,” Sohel Shaikh explained.
“Labourers now know that leopards visit the farm even during daytime now. They flatly refuse to work in my farm or come anywhere near it,” Shaikh lamented. Leopards have caused huge damage to Shaikh’s farm including killing several pairs of chicken worth around Rs 25,000 each, which he had brought specifically for breeding purposes. Besides the foul business, the big cats have also killed a pair of Doberman dogs, a pair of Rottweiler dogs and a few goats too.
Frustrated, Shaikh took his only horse home in the village to ensure its safety besides installing iron grille all around his farm house as leopard-proof measures.
The farm is surrounded by dense forest and rivulets that provide the big cats a perfect hideout, explain forest officials.
“Due to suitable conditions leopards prefer the forest and farms around Vareli. We take precautionary measures to ensure that there is no man-animal or leopard-animal conflicts,” said Puneet Nayyar, deputy conservator of forest.
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