4 leopards starve to death in Pune's Junnar over 4 months

PUNE: Four leopards have died due to starvation during the past four months in Junnar forest division, officials said, linking the casualties to the "ecological imbalance" in the area having the maximum population of the animal in the state.
The deaths were reported from the Manchar and Shirur forest ranges, where concentration of the leopard is high. The leopards were in the age group of 1-12 years, forest officials said, adding that the lack of prey base and shrinking habitats were two primary reasons leading to the deaths.
Amol Satpute, deputy conservator of forest, Junnar division, on Saturday told TOI, "We have noticed a significant spike in territorial fights among leopards in the division in the past two years. It was not the trend earlier. It indicates ecological imbalance."
He said, "Younger or older leopards don't get prey, as they do not have their territories. The leopards that can hunt have secured the maximum areas. It happens when there is a high density of animals. This is the situation in Junnar. We are getting experts' views to redress the problem."
4 leopards starve to death in Junnar forest division over four months
Smita Rajhans, range forest officer (RFO) of Manchar where two deaths were reported at Eklahare and Narodi villages on March 5 and March 8, respectively, told TOI, "The post-mortem reports of these animals revealed that they did not have food for three to four days. These were the first instances of starvation deaths in the Manchar range."
Vrushali Mhaske, a veterinary officer of the veterinary dispensary of Kalamb, said, "The animal was about one-year-old. Its ribs and other organs were extremely weak. We could not find food in the body. The cause of the death was starvation."
Manchar range is spread over 92 villages, having 9,000 hectares of forest land, in Ambegaon tehsil. "The neighbouring Shirur forest range, too, has reported two deaths of starvation in the past three months," range forest officer Manohar Mahisekar said.
"One animal was less than one-year-old, while another was aged about 11-12 years. We suspect the younger animal could not hunt prey. In the second case, the animal might not be able to hunt prey due to lack of ability," he said.
Bilal Habib, a scientist from the department of animal ecology and conservation biology of Wildlife Institute of India (WII), told TOI, "Whenever animals do not get prey in their territories, they enter human habitats in search of food as a last-ditch attempt. Besides, infighting over the gain of territory increases in the forest areas."
According to Mihir Godbole, founder of the Pune-based conservation organisation, Grasslands Trust, forest areas or sugar cane fields were inadequate to house the increasing population of leopards in Pune district.
Another expert from WII said, "Maintaining ecological balance is the first and foremost solution to tackle the issue. To achieve this, foresters need to conserve the herbivorous and small animals."