7 staffers include Shabir– a rescuer of 23 leopards
Abrar A. Mttoo
OMPORA-BUDGAM: Following the death of four-year-old Adaa Mir from Housing Colony, Ompora, Budgam, the department of wildlife has launched a rescue cum hunt operation for the beast turned man-eater.
Besides it’s field staff with tranquilizing guns and hired hunters who are armed with bore gauge guns that can shoot one to eighty pellets at a time, the department of wildlife has put seven people at task to neutralize the predator.
One of these hunters is Shabir Ahmad, an employee of the Jammu and Kashmir wildlife department who is no less than a hero.
In past five years, Shabir has rescued 23 leopards from different localities all across the Kashmir valley, which his team relocated to either wildlife sanctuaries or to protected reserves.
Thus far, it appears as a likely conclusion that the beast hiding at Ompora wilderness would be neutralized. Because Given the anger and grief that prevails amongst the locals and employees, killing the beast is in minds of all the parties. While for the department of wildlife the action may sum as a cover-up for their negligence, for the people, however, the beast’s death would settle a heinous grudge.
“While many are with killing the leopard, I am with making all the efforts to catch it alive,” Yasir Bashir, a student from the housing Colony, Ompora told Kashmir Despatch.
Bashir Ahmad Bhat, concerned forester said that they would further add four more private hunters to the group, and it is likely that the beast would be neutralized in one or two days.
However, the concerned official refused the claims that there is more than one leopard hiding in the 560 Kanals of sloping wilderness or so-called nursery. But if there are found to be more than one leopard hiding in the wilderness, then the question of identification may pose both ethical and moral dilemmas to the team and decision-makers who have signed the killing of said leopard.
It is pertinent to mention here that the leopards are designated endangered animals, and only 12 to 14000 are estimated to be left in the whole of India.
Though the residents of surrounding areas are adamant that there are eight to 14 leopards hiding in the wilderness, thus far, only one leopard has been spotted by the hunters and wildlife staff at the task. Earlier, when the leopard was spotted in the morning, he gave a slip to the group and disappeared into the extension of the wood, while dodging the barrage of pellet shots and tranquilizing darts.
At the moment, the forest thinning and ground clearance process is also going on to reduce the hiding space for the leopards at Ompora, but that process would take long and hunters and rescuers don’t have that much — it’s a question of earnest redressal. However, there are many who fear that hasty actions alone cannot solve the issue of man-animal conflict in Kashmir. The man-animal conflict has been on a steep rise in Kashmir and there are more actions needed to address it than killing and rescuing the involved leopards.
“While the requisite action is also needed to properly rehabilitate the leopards that roam in human settlements, the issue of habitat loss and illegal felling of Jammu and Kashmir’s forests that has been going on unchecked from decades, also needs to be addressed. The authorities need to light upon the issue with a strong will,” Abid Baba, a local environmentalist said while talking to Kashmir Despatch.
