4 leopards in 4 days......The Lansdowne Maneater

[zaheer.bakshi]

The second leopard was trapped on 5th March in pokhal village.

Btw Dr. Prashant we have always shot the right maneating leopard and not like '' ek kei saath ek free''

[AgentDoubleS]

Prashant, Zaheer,

Always a pleasure reading through your maneater hunt stories! Your commitment to wildlife is commendable. And what a shot there Zaheer.

Prashant, as they say:

Girte hain sheh sawar maidan-e-jung mein
Girenge woh kya jo ghutno ke bal chale!

Ride safe...

Cheers,
SS

[GNV]

Bravo

[prashantsingh]

5th March 1030pm
We had one leopard in the garden and the dead maneater in the verandah .
After a meeting which lasted about an hour and half on which of leopards was the maneater . We were able to convince everyone that the caged animal was indeed innocent .
The fact that the maneater was shot outside the village where it had made a kill the previous day and that it had tried to stalk a boy who had come out of the car weighed heavily against the one we had shot.
The deputy ranger was asked to relocate the innocent leopard to the national park close by which is a lesser know part of Corbett.
BTW the Landsdowne division is that forest bridge which connects Corbett National Park to Rajaji National Park.
Legend has it that Rajagopalacharya, the Governor General ,a keen wildlifer was invited for a shoot to one of the ranges of what today is RNP. He was so inspired by the beauty that he refused the hunt and asked the authorities to protect it.
Had it not been for the Landsdowne division . The tigers in Rajaji would probably have gone extinct. The surplus big cats migrate through this division into Rajaji . Rajaji has recently been declared a Tiger Reserve.
4th Leopard
We had barely finished our morning tea when we got a call from the DFO. Kotdwar.
A big male leopard ....which was later measured to around 8 feet had entered the city. Two tranquilising teams one from Corbett and one from Wildlife Institute of India Dehradun had been called. We would be stationed as a precautionary measure .....just in case anything went wrong.
Unfortunately. ....things did go wrong.and I shall talk about the limitations of tranquilising subsequently.
The event was covered extensively by the media and Zaheer probably has a number of snaps. Again I found myself locking horns with the media which I will talk about later.
It was 6th March. Sunday. We quickly packed our bags , had a short breakfast , spoke to a couple of local media guys and we're on the road to Kotdwar by 10 am. An hours drive . We had to reach Shivalik Puram a newly formed residential society just outside the town.
Will give the story a break for a day. In the mean time Zaheer can put up all the snaps.

Wishing everyone a very colourful Holi

[SMJ]

Dr Prashant, the work your team and you do is just amazing and what a fantastic write up. I must admit that I do look forward to reading your stories but I do hope for the sake of our depleting wildlife that such circumstances occur less frequently.
A very happy Holi to everyone!

[zaheer.bakshi]

Shivalik Nagar kotdwar.

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[prashantsingh]

Very prompt with the photos Zaheer. So I will continue.
The moment we entered Shivalik Nagar a cop stopped us. We told him that we were part of the Forest Dept team. He let us in. There were hundreds of motorcycles parked on either side of the narrow road which entered into the colony. Parked our jeep and were lead to the DFO who was waiting for us. Went upstairs on to the roof where at least 50 people were already standing.
The colony was basically a rectangular shaped set of houses with a wheat field in the middle. From the roof we could easily see the beautiful leopard sitting low.
From ground level it was impossible to see him. Such is leopard's camouflage.
Had it not been for its tail. A leopard could well hide behind a leaf.........is an old proverb.
On every roof top there were scores of people as the photos show.
The DFO briefed us and told us that we were not to shoot unless he gave the order. We agreed.
This was an innocent leopard. Had strayed into the (ever expanding) town of Kotdwar. Probably looking for a dog or a goat.
He had unfortunately stayed a little too long and was now trapped with thousands of onlookers. He was spotted at dawn break and thereafter there was this stream of people trickling in which prevented his escape.
He just had no place to go and was surrounded from all sides.
We reached at around 11 am and were joined by Joy half an hour later.
We had decided.
We would use our shot guns only. There were too many people to risk a shot with a .375 mag or a .3006.
It was a long wait thereafter for the tranquilizing experts to arrive.



The DFO put the shooters on the roofs of four corner houses. I stayed right in the middle. 20 yards directly infront of me was the leopard. I could watch every step ever move and was inspired and in awe with his beauty. Hours passed and I just kept sitting watching him. When I recall now, the sun was directly on my head. But I felt no thirst , no hunger. I was totally mesmerised by this beautiful male. I had fallen in love with this creature. I had decided.....whatever happened. I would never shoot this one.
Finally the tranquilizing team arrived.
It was 2 pm.
The DFO who was till then sitting with me , went to receive the team.
They would go onto the roof top of a house directly opposite to where I was sitting , and dart the animal.
All the reporters and media personnel were on the same roof where I was sitting. There was live coverage of the event going on.
That is where I had an issue with one of the media guys.
"Kotdwar me Guldaar ke ghusne se Dehshat ka mahole" (fear grips the citizens of Kotdwar as leopard enters town).......I heard the chap shout in the camera.
I could stand it no longer.
I shouted at the guy...."HELLO......Kya bakwaas kar rahe ho" (what nonsense)
All cameras stopped and everyone turned towards me.

"Where on earth do you see FEAR amongst these folks.
Look at them.
They are all smiling
Chatting
Joking and
Happy.

It is ignorant people like you who give the leopard a bad name. Who show him as a blood thirsty beast. A killing machine. " I shouted.

There is no FEAR here. If there was FEAR.....not one person would be standing here.
They would all be hiding in their houses.
Use the correct words.
The closest word I can think of is
INQUISITIVENESS.
Its a sunday. Its a holiday. People have nothing better to do. So they are here to watch the tamasha.
This is not a maneater. It is just a poor leopard who has lost his way.
If there is anyone who is scared right now. Its not you or me . It that beautiful creature which has been hiding in the field since morning , without food or water ."

The reporter was shell shocked. Didnt know what to say.
The others thought I was MAD.

Anyways.....I could care less.
The darts were being prepaired and this would all end soon on a happy note......I thought.

[zaheer.bakshi]

Tranquilizing team & the leopord

[prashantsingh]

This is crazy.
We ARE surely MAD.
While India plays Holi. The two of us are sitting and writing this story.
I better complete it fast before my wife runs after me with a butter knife.

I guess its all about the passion....after all.


It took about an hour for the initial preparation.
Finally the expert was ready to take the shot.
"Thaak" the dart went.
We were told its a hit.
The medicine would take about 10 minutes to act.
The animal would be picked up and put in a cage. After a thorough physical examination . The leopard would be relocated and released.
What happened next was something no one was expecting.
I request Zaheer to post the shocking videos.

[zaheer.bakshi]

After Tranuilizing leopard?
Photo Courtesy : Mr Rajeev Bisht (kotdwar) an excellent photographer.

[prashantsingh]

Please put up the video Zaheer.

Rajiv Bisht a local photographer and a friend of Mansoor Mazhar covered the event well with the camera. He is also into bird photography and runs a camp. Takes group out for birdwatching. I have never met him though but have heard some good things about him from my team mate Mansoor.

Did anyone of you see the gent with the helmet standing on the roof ?
He was another reporter from some local news paper. From morning till evening he kept that helmet on...
Probably to save himself from the onslaught of the killing machine......the Khatarnaak Khooni Guldaar

[zaheer.bakshi]

Safety first

[prashantsingh]

Yes.....and that's me holding the shotgun.
He also made it a point to stay close to me.
Probably the gun gave him extra security.

[zaheer.bakshi]

Video Footage of leopard after Tranquilizing team began to pursue the capture of leopard and how the leopard was one against many to fight for his freedom & survival ?

[prashantsingh]

The video is self explanatory.
I would name it "Leopard defends" rather than "Leopard attacks".
The "expert" either did not get the animal cleanly or else gave an underdose.
The results are infront of us.
The leopard charged and mauled two forest guards .
I had the gun on him through out......but did not have the heart to shoot.
After all he was only making an attempt to escape.
He then ran towards where Joy was stationed.

To make matters worse those hundreds of people standing on the roof started running down. Everyone wanted to watch the tamasha. I am surprised no one got hurt in the process.
Here was a really dangerous situation.
You had a scared leopard running and people following him.
An attack was inevitable.
I shouted and tried to stop the people but no one listened.
Finally I ran down as well......
There was utter confusion. I could see nothing but a flood of humanity.
People running here and there. There was dust and noise and people shouting at their top of their voices.
After about 5 minutes of all this drama .....three shots were heard.
It was all over.

Joy later told me that the leopard had jumped a wall and entered a house where some girls and ladies were standing.
A decision had to be made.
and it had to be made really fast.
The DFO had to decide whether to wait for another dart or shoot to kill.
He asked Joy to shoot the animal.

The beautiful male was dead.

His only crime......to have accidentally tress passed over a piece of land which once belonged to him......but had now been taken over by the most dreaded of all creature .........MAN.