With man-eater leopard on prowl, forest department arms up with gas guns

BHUBANESWAR: Forest personnel of Sunabeda Wildlife Sanctuary in Nuapada district have intermittently started using gas guns to drive the leopard deep inside the forest. The leopard has turned a man-eater and killed an elderly woman sometime back and hunted a calf on Sunday.
Gas is pumped into the gun that generates a loud noise. “We can’t use the gas gun frequently as it can disturb the animal,” said divisional forest officer (Khariar division) Sushil Tripathy.
Wildlife experts said old age, illness or injuries may have forced the leopard to come out of the forest and move close to human habitations to hunt. So far, it has killed seven cattle heads at different locations. “Leopards or tigers look for easy prey when they get old or have injuries or illness. In some cases after they get old, their canine teeth become weak. Then they prefer animals whose meat is softer from the ones that they were used to killing,” said Anup Nayak, former member secretary, National Tiger Conservation Authority.