Chandigarh January 30:
After migratory birds, it is now the turn of wild cats to get counted. The Punjab Government has decided to carry out a census to ascertain the number of leopards across Punjab.
The decision came after two leopards — one in Ropar and another in Hoshiarpur —were found dead in the last one-and-a-half month. After ascertaining their number, the Punjab Government is planning to formulate a detailed leopard management plan.
The responsibility to carry out the census has been bestowed with the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) in Dehradun, on the expenses of the State Wildlife Department. Though the number of wild cats is not that high in Punjab, considering three deaths in the past few months, the State has decided to conduct census. The wildlife department authorities owe the rise in their number to the diminishing forest cover in Himachal Pradesh and cold weather.
“Due to diminishing forest cover in Himachal, because of deforestation activities, the leopards are straying into Punjab region. Moreover, due to harsh winters, leopards can not live in mountainous areas as it is too cold for them. So they come to plains searching for food and water,” Punjab Chief Wildlife Warden Gurbaaz Singh told reporters. “The forests in Himachal used to be thick and dense where the animals could hide themselves. But as the development is taking place in the hilly region, and more and more trees are being cut, more leopards are now being spotted,” added Singh.
Another senior official at the Wildlife Department added that to keep themselves warm, leopards walk a lot during winter season. They keep on moving from one place to another and stay wherever they feel safe and have food for their survival, said the official. “Animals are unaware of boundaries we have created. They keep on moving. But sometimes it may so happen that they lose their way and can not go back,” added the official.
Struggling with the mounting number of wandering wild cats in the State, the department has decided to conduct the census first and then devise a management plan to provide free and secure environment to them. “As of now, all focus is on the leopard census. It is only after ascertaining their number, we could make out a plan for leopards. Presently, the plan is in its fundamental stage and will take some shape only after the census,” said Chief Wildlife Warden Singh.
The management plan, he informed, will also be prepared with the help of WII — an internationally acclaimed institute that offers training programme, academic courses and advisory in the wildlife research and management. Moreover, the institute is actively engaged in research across the breadth of the country on biodiversity related issues. It has been informed that the WII has been asked to conduct census using latest techniques and methods.
“The data collected through census will help us draft plan as per the number of leopards fond in a particular area. It will help us to determine which areas needed to be focused more and should be paid more attention,” added Singh.
After migratory birds, it is now the turn of wild cats to get counted. The Punjab Government has decided to carry out a census to ascertain the number of leopards across Punjab.
The decision came after two leopards — one in Ropar and another in Hoshiarpur —were found dead in the last one-and-a-half month. After ascertaining their number, the Punjab Government is planning to formulate a detailed leopard management plan.
The responsibility to carry out the census has been bestowed with the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) in Dehradun, on the expenses of the State Wildlife Department. Though the number of wild cats is not that high in Punjab, considering three deaths in the past few months, the State has decided to conduct census. The wildlife department authorities owe the rise in their number to the diminishing forest cover in Himachal Pradesh and cold weather.
“Due to diminishing forest cover in Himachal, because of deforestation activities, the leopards are straying into Punjab region. Moreover, due to harsh winters, leopards can not live in mountainous areas as it is too cold for them. So they come to plains searching for food and water,” Punjab Chief Wildlife Warden Gurbaaz Singh told reporters. “The forests in Himachal used to be thick and dense where the animals could hide themselves. But as the development is taking place in the hilly region, and more and more trees are being cut, more leopards are now being spotted,” added Singh.
Another senior official at the Wildlife Department added that to keep themselves warm, leopards walk a lot during winter season. They keep on moving from one place to another and stay wherever they feel safe and have food for their survival, said the official. “Animals are unaware of boundaries we have created. They keep on moving. But sometimes it may so happen that they lose their way and can not go back,” added the official.
Struggling with the mounting number of wandering wild cats in the State, the department has decided to conduct the census first and then devise a management plan to provide free and secure environment to them. “As of now, all focus is on the leopard census. It is only after ascertaining their number, we could make out a plan for leopards. Presently, the plan is in its fundamental stage and will take some shape only after the census,” said Chief Wildlife Warden Singh.
The management plan, he informed, will also be prepared with the help of WII — an internationally acclaimed institute that offers training programme, academic courses and advisory in the wildlife research and management. Moreover, the institute is actively engaged in research across the breadth of the country on biodiversity related issues. It has been informed that the WII has been asked to conduct census using latest techniques and methods.
“The data collected through census will help us draft plan as per the number of leopards fond in a particular area. It will help us to determine which areas needed to be focused more and should be paid more attention,” added Singh.
