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Indian leopards broke into the city and injured people, 300 people spent 27 days without being caught, experts: human leopard coexistence

author:Jimu News

Jimu news reporter Li Manying

According to the BBC reported on September 1, on August 5, in the center of the Indian city of Belgaum, a leopard attacked a construction worker and fled. Fortunately, although the worker was injured, his life was not in danger. The local forest department recruited more than 300 people to hunt down the leopard, including veterinarians, anesthesiologists and sharpshooters. However, 27 days later, the leopard is still difficult to find.

Where did the wounded leopard go? How are people hunted? And why didn't you catch it? On September 2, Jimu news reporters revealed and sorted out this.

Indian leopards broke into the city and injured people, 300 people spent 27 days without being caught, experts: human leopard coexistence

Leopards stare through dense foliage (Image: India Express)

Wild leopards flee from downtown injuries

The Hindustan Times reported that on August 5, a construction worker was injured by a leopard attack in the center of the indian city of Belgaum, and the area has been on high alert ever since.

Since authorities have not caught the leopard, at least 22 local schools and several small businesses have been closed for nearly a month.

After the incident, the injured leopard was repeatedly found around a golf course in the city, which further caused panic among residents.

Subsequently, the local forest department recruited more than 300 people, including veterinarians, sharpshooters and anesthesiologists, to try to catch the leopard as quickly as possible.

Where did this hurtful leopard come from? According to data released by the Indian government, Karnataka, where Belgaum city is located, has vast forests and several wildlife sanctuaries, with 1783 leopards, ranking second in the country. These leopards are often present in the major cities of Karnataka.

Anthony S Mariappa, a Belgaum Forest Department official in charge of the operation, said that this was the first time a leopard had been found in Belgaum city, and people were very panicked.

Two elephants also joined the search

According to the BBC, Belgaum city authorities set up about 20 cameras near the leopard-infested golf course to track the leopard's whereabouts. These cameras all have cameras with infrared sensors that automatically take pictures when they sense moving objects. At the same time, the search crews placed ten metal cages in the area containing puppies and piglets, which they tried to use as bait to trap the leopards.

Considering that it was a male leopard, the captors also tried the method of "sexual attraction", in which they smeared the feces and urine left by a female leopard during estrus on the cage, hoping to lure the leopard inside.

Indian leopards broke into the city and injured people, 300 people spent 27 days without being caught, experts: human leopard coexistence

Leopards captured (Image: BBC)

The relevant staff added that the search team of more than 300 people has searched the 300-hectare area near the golf course three times. They planned to fire sedative darts at leopards by sharpshooters, then capture them and transfer them to nature reserves.

"We also hired two well-trained elephants because leopards are easier to spot from above." Workers said they also used a drone to fly over the area in an attempt to spot the leopard.

Why the leopard hasn't been caught yet

According to the BBC, the leopard has been filmed twice on camera since the arrest team was founded, but it escaped before being caught.

The arresters explained that this had something to do with the local weather. After all, rain reduces visibility and forms multiple bodies of water in a small area, which makes it harder for hunters to set traps.

According to the Hindustan Times, after weeks of unsuccessful searches for leopards, on Sunday local time, a group of women from Congress "tried" to enter the golf course area to "catch" wild animals to ridicule the government and the arresting team for failing to catch the leopards. Netizens also slammed the authorities on social media, with some users mocking the authorities while sharing posts calling leopards "residents" of the city, and they even replaced the avatars on citizens' cards with the image of leopards and created a fake bank account for leopards.

Indian leopards broke into the city and injured people, 300 people spent 27 days without being caught, experts: human leopard coexistence

Cages placed by the captors (Image: BBC)

Sanjay Gubbi, a wildlife biologist who has studied leopards in Karnataka for more than a decade, said authorities and the public wanted quick results, and under intense pressure, captors were forced to try new experiments every day. But to catch a leopard, these artificial interventions often backfire.

Sanjay Gubbi analyzed that leopards are more "shy", and they are more likely to appear, move, and launch large-scale arrests in a calm state, which may not be the most effective method. In addition, there is a large amount of prey in the area, so leopards are not interested in the bait set.

More than 30 people in the country have been injured in leopard attacks in the past six months, according to the Indian Express on September 1.

Sanjay Gubbi cautioned that capturing a leopard would not solve the problem. "We want people to learn more about leopards and their behavior, which helps build tolerance and acceptance, so that people and leopards can coexist in a safer and more peaceful way."

(Source: Jimu News)

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