About Leopard And Human Coexistence
C. R. Ramana Kailash

Leopards are one of the most adaptive big cats in the world. They live from frigid regions Of Russia to hot and humid rainforests of Indonesia; from Arabian deserts to African savannah.
While big cats around the world struggle to survive the pressure exerted by humans, a subspecies of leopard had managed to survive in the concrete jungles of one of the busiest cities in the world; the Indian leopard. But it doesn’t mean that these leopards thrive in urban regions. For last two decades, human-leopard conflict has risen rapidly. This causes loss on both sides, humans and leopards conflict each other for habitat. Leopards have started to encroach the cities and villages of India as we, humans destroyed their habitat.
Further, human’s tolerance towards leopards has decreased in the past few years. This results in conflict: humans poison leopards as they kill their livestock and leopards attack humans. A few leopards turn into man-eaters, worsening the situation. Nearly 200 leopards are killed in India by villagers annually.
Maharashtra, Uttarkhand, Northern parts of Bengal, Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh are the states facing severe leopard- human conflict.
Leopard-Human conflicts in India
Urban leopards are increasing all over India, especially in one of the busiest cities of Asia, Mumbai. The Sanjay Gandhi National Park lies beyond the bustling chawls and apartments of Mumbai. This 103 sq.km forest is sandwiched by the city, with no corridor to connect with other forests. This forest could be sustainable for three male leopards, but nearly 60 leopards live in the park, causing territorial fights among leopards.
BOX Sustainability
What does sustainability mean in the context of leopard habitats? Leopards are very fast creatures and like to inhabit scrub jungle with small prey that they can catch easily because of being able to chase them down in the open jungle. Typically, leopards live to about 20 years in the wild. So, sustainable means that there should be enough prey and area available for the population living there. Moreover, they should be able to live there undisturbed, without disturbance from humans.
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Lack of prey and less area has pushed these crafty feline to adapt to the suburbs of Mumbai. Thousands of stray dogs and other domestic animals roamed in the Mumbai roads; leopards soon adapted to the bustling urban environment, hunting dogs and pigs. Inevitably, leopard-human conflict started becoming intense. Even though most leopards preyed on dogs and other animals for most of the time, a few leopards turned man-eaters, especially preying on small children.
Soon, man-eater leopards were captured and a campaign titled ‘Living with Leopards’ was conducted all over Mumbai. Awareness had led to coexistence of both species; conflict between humans and leopards has decreased considerably. But leopards still roam in the nights of Mumbai.
Prey animals of leopards in Mumbai are not owned by people, they are feral animals. But in rural India, leopards attack livestock of farmers which are major money yielders for farmers; this intensifies the conflict. Farmers poison leopards, dozens of leopards die in India because of poisoning, annually. A few leopards still see humans as their prey; vast farms provide a good cover for these felines to hunt.
Once, leopards all over India preyed on humans. But elimination of man-eaters by game hunters like Jim Corbett and Kenneth Anderson had resulted in leopards developing a fear towards humans. Today, leopards are killed by villagers considering them as pests. In few instances, villagers beat leopards to death. It is leopards that are in danger now.
BOX Facts about leopards
The leopard is the smallest of the big cats, with the male being almost 50% larger than the female.
Leopards are a near threatened species in India. 
Leopards are very fast and can run at up to 60 km/h!
They can leap 6 metres forward through the air and jump almost 3 metres high! It uses its curled tail to maintain balance during the jump.
Leopards can see seven times better in the dark than humans. Being nocturnal animals, they are more active at night and spend their days resting, camouflaged in the trees or hiding in caves.
Due to their resemblance to the shape of a rose, the spots of a leopard are called rosettes and each individual leopard has a unique rosette pattern. Difference in the rosettes shape and colour can also be observed in different regions.
The tongues of all felines, from house pets to leopards, are covered with tiny barbs or hooks, giving them a rough texture. These microscopic projections face toward the cat’s throat, and are the tools that help to groom its coat. In the wild, these hooks help to tear the flesh off the bones of the big cat’s prey!
Jawai-a solution for the conflict
While conflict between humans and leopards are increasing all over India, villagers of Jawai in Rajasthan figured out how to coexist with India’s most feared predator. Located in the north western part of India, this small village adjoins a large, thorny forest in rocky outcrops of the Aravalli range; this thorny bush forest serves as home for 50 leopards. Rabari tribes, a semi nomadic herders and shepherds live in these villages. Vast pastures of land serve as grazing field. Leopards frequently hunt their precious livestock but they have a mutual relationship with these animals as the state government gives compensation to them.
Many shepherd in Jawai work as part-time tourist guides as Jawai forests draw hundreds of tourists. Money from tourism is additional income for the villagers. People here consider leopards as sacred; the villagers also welcome leopard’s presence in their field as leopards drive out Neelgai, deers and other herbivores. Leopards in turn seem to consider humans not as a threat. Not even a single attack has happened in the Jawai hills for past one century. People here work as a community to save these magnificent predators.
Even though a similar scenario may not be practical all over India, mutual understanding, tourism and awareness can be the key factors to help in conservation of leopards. We can’t teach a leopard to avoid humans; but we can teach a human to tolerate leopards. Reducing urbanization in the vicinity of forests, maximizing forest cover and spreading awareness about leopard conservation will be the last hope for peaceful coexistence between the two species.
Sources: Wildlifesos.org, Wikipedia