"MENEATER, ITS MEAN LEOPARD WHO KILLED INNOCENT PEOPLE" !!!!

[Rajat]

MENEATER, ITS MEAN LEOPARD WHO KILLED INNOCENT PEOPLE: This is the name of the blog. The blog of Mr Lakhpat Singh Rawat the person who is interested to " Save people from Maneaters".

Guys, I do not know what to say on this find. I was recently drawn to this topic by none other than Prashant through his current thread. Upon researching this topic in detail I came across this blog:

http://lakhapat.blogspot.com/2011/07/ph ... _1249.html

**FOLKS THERE ARE GRAPHIC PICTURES OF VICTIMS**[/img][/img]

Go through it in detail and look at ALL the pictures.

I think the count is more than 28 leopards or Maneaters. I am not commenting on the number that Lakhpat Rawat has shot or why he has done it or if it is morally or ethically justified or not or if he is doing the right thing or not. What has caught my attention is that in such a short period 1 Tiger and 28 Leopards have killed and hunted humans who are not their natural prey. Secondly these 28 are the ones which have been shot by Rawat: there might be many more.

Not criticizing Rawat. He must be the champion of the people out there who do not know where else to turn to or what to do.
I think fellow member Prashant also knows about Mr. Rawat and has mentioned his name once earlier on IFG.

This post is not related to any pro or anti hunting sentiments but comes out of surprise due to the sheer numbers. The natural habitat of these animals is depleting fast and their food is getting scarce. A hungry predator’s instinct just leads it to an easy source of food or easy prey.
Soon it will be an all out war between the humans and the animals. Who the winner will be is anyone’s guess (if it may be called winning) but what they will get out of it is the question.

[prashantsingh]

Lakhpath is a school teacher in a Govt. (primary) school. He is also known as Bandook wale Masterjee. He is probably going to make it to the record books. He is so popular in the hills that his wife has been elected as a Block Pramukh.....not once but twice.
My friend (Singh) knows him well .
xl target and I were talking about him the other day.

[shooter]

i followed the thread and it mentions 38 leopards shot (at least) by mr. rawat.

going OT, did anyone notice the spots on leopard number 31 look more like a jaguar's. I know its not a jaguar but the sopts are so beautiful.

[Rajat]

i followed the thread and it mentions 38 leopards shot (at least) by mr. rawat.

It is possible, I could not find leopard # 38 but the tiger was number 35. This means that the number is greater.

Prashant: Yes, I had also searched IFG for Rawat and found you mentioning Rawat while replying to XL's statement recently.

[shooter]

It is possible, I could not find leopard # 38

http://lakhapat.blogspot.com/search?upd ... results=20


MANEATER
Posted by lakhapat rawat at 3:48 PM 0 comments Links to this post
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
The photo as shown above is a Maneater leopard who killed three woman.The maneater leopard shooted by L.S.Rawat on 27 Jun 2011 at Kumarada Darasu Uttarkashi.This Maneater leopard was the 38th leopard in order of serial number as shooted by hunter Lakhapat rawat.

[Rajat]

Yes, correct. Wednesday, July 6 2011. It was somewhere in the middle of the page.

[The Doc]

Teen Sau Pandrah rifle ? Not bad at all !

best,
Rp.

[shooter]

.315 isnt as bad as what people think. it has approx .32 diameter and a bullet weight greater than 220 grains if memory serves me correctly. it has more than enough energy to knock down a tiger let alone a leopard. this is especially true in indian-maneater scenario where the animals are shot at close range. cats arent thick skinned animals so a bigger calibre isnt mandatory. esp so for leopard. please also bear in mind that a leopard is slightly bigger than a huge dog, to give you an idea.

.315 have accounted for a lot of cat family in india more than we imagine. please note not everyone was wealthy enough to shoot centuries of cats and similarly not everyone was wealthy to own double rifles of magnum calibres.

often we see poachers arrested who have shot leopards with muzzle loading smooth bore guns.

[357 S&W]

.315 isnt as bad as what people think. it has approx .32 diameter and a bullet weight greater than 220 grains if memory serves me correctly. it has more than enough energy to knock down a tiger let alone a leopard. this is especially true in indian-maneater scenario where the animals are shot at close range. cats arent thick skinned animals so a bigger calibre isnt mandatory. esp so for leopard. please also bear in mind that a leopard is slightly bigger than a huge dog, to give you an idea.

.315 have accounted for a lot of cat family in india more than we imagine. please note not everyone was wealthy enough to shoot centuries of cats and similarly not everyone was wealthy to own double rifles of magnum calibres.

often we see poachers arrested who have shot leopards with muzzle loading smooth bore guns.

[prashantsingh]

Apparantly he shot his 42nd "Maneater" on 26 October 2012.
Check out the blog. Unfortunately I am not good as posting links.

[Vikram]

Apparantly he shot his 42nd "Maneater" on 26 October 2012.
Check out the blog. Unfortunately I am not good as posting links.

Here it is. He claims he shot his 42nd man eating leopard.


http://lakhapat.blogspot.com/search?upd ... -results=7

Tuesday, October 30, 2012
The maneater leopard as shown above is one who killed by me as well as my team on 26 Oct 2012 at Lamgarha Block of District Almora. The leopard killed a woman. This maneater leoplard is the 42 in order of serial number as shotdown by me so far.

With due respect to his efforts,I wonder if all the leopards he shot were man-eaters. How do they ascertain that the shot animal is a man eater? Is there a method to it or is it just a shoot and pray affair? I also would like to know how the Forest Department goes about the entire procedure.

Washington Post:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... 03873.html

Fanfare and Flak for Hunter of Man-Eating Leopards in India


Since 2002, Rawat has killed 27 leopards. Villagers hail him as a savior, but wildlife activists question the continued hunting of an endangered species. (Courtesy of Uttarakhand Forest Department)
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By Rama Lakshmi
Washington Post Foreign Service
Thursday, October 8, 2009
GAROT, India -- Hiding in the bushes along a river, Lakhpat Singh Rawat heard mountain deer bark. He peered through the scope of his hunting rifle and wondered whether the leopard that recently carried away a 2-year-old village boy was approaching.

Within minutes, a brown form moved slowly across a grassy patch. When his assistant directed a powerful light at the animal, Rawat eased his finger from the trigger.

"This is not the man-eating leopard I am hunting for. This one is much younger," Rawat whispered, plucking the weeds off his camouflage jacket.

The mustached 45-year-old with sharp eyes and oiled hair is a revered hunter of man-eating leopards in the Himalayan ranges of India's Uttarakhand state. Since 2002, Rawat has killed 27 big cats with the state's permission, earning both fanfare and flak in a battle between humans and wildlife conservation. Villagers hail him as a savior for eliminating the leopards that eat people, mostly children. But activists question a system that encourages him to hunt an endangered species.

The dangerous conflict between man and beast in these Himalayan villages has grown in recent years because of the shrinking number of natural prey for the spotted cat and the steady buildup of people and livestock on the forest fringes. In the past nine years, leopards have eaten 189 people in Uttarakhand.

"This makes the villagers frightened and furious. They demand immediate action against the leopard," said K.L. Arya, the chief wildlife warden. "It is a very difficult decision to issue permits to capture or kill the man-eating leopards."



Arya has issued two licenses in the past 10 days; in most instances, the leopard is killed, not captured. One of the two licenses is for the leopard that leapt from nearby hills and killed a 2-year-old boy who was playing with his four siblings on the open terrace of his home.

"The leopard caught my son by his neck right in front of my eyes. I could not even react," said the boy's tearful mother, Geeta Chik, clutching her remaining children. The boy's head and ankles were found in the upper reaches of the mountain the next day. "The leopard should be killed. I want no other child to be harmed again," his mother said.

The fear is especially palpable after sundown, when the villagers forbid children to play outdoors. Officials say that after each death, villagers block traffic in protest and demand local politicians' help. Rangers enlist shooters such as Rawat to kill the leopards.

But those who study the biology and behavior of leopards question the continued hunting of the animals.

"When we kill or capture and move them, we do not understand how we affect their ecosystem and social structure. It causes them tremendous psychological stress, and chances of conflict increase," said Vidya Athreya, a wildlife biologist with the Kaati Trust. "When the old ones are killed, new leopards come into the area."

She added that villagers often fail to distinguish between accidental and deliberate attacks by leopards.
But Rawat, who is a schoolteacher, said a spate of leopard attacks on children in 2002 stirred his conscience.

"Twelve schoolchildren were killed by a crafty leopard that picked them from wedding parties," the sharpshooter recalled. "Nobody was able to catch the animal. I could not watch this go on. I am a good shot, and I volunteered."

Now, almost every villager in the area knows Rawat. He is called the "Leopard Killer," and he gets fan mail. When he kills a wild cat, villagers anoint his forehead with sandalwood paste and chant slogans. They also anoint the dead leopard before it is taken for forensic analysis and cremation.

"The leopard is a holy animal. It is the vehicle" of one of the Hindu goddesses, Rawat said. "I do penance and pray every day when I hunt."

In April, he shot a 7-year-old leopard that was later found to be pregnant with twin cubs. Angry activists said the animal could have been trapped instead.

Critics also say that adequate analysis is not done before the leopards are killed.

"There is no guarantee that the leopards he kills are the same ones that kill people," said Hem Singh Gehlot, an activist working in villages located near wildlife pockets. "How long do they observe the animal and trace its routes before killing it? Relying on [footprints] is not enough."

Under Indian law, leopards and tigers are endangered species. A tiger is declared a man-eater only after it kills six human beings, but the rules for leopards are flexible. Gehlot said that the effort is always to capture a man-eating tiger but that a man-eating leopard is often killed.


Rawat wants officials to train villagers to tranquilize the animals, and he advocates putting radio collars on leopards. But rangers say it is impossible to tag the animals because there are so many of them and they are not restricted to one area.

Despite his hero-like image, Rawat is not without fear. He recently petitioned the Uttarakhand Forest Department to give him insurance when he goes to hunt.

"I have the license to shoot only man-eating leopards," he said. "But when I go to hunt, it is the Himalayan black bear and snakes that I fear most."

Best-
Vikram

[SriramK]

Isn't capture+relocation an option? Or are these "save big cats" campaigns just for people who have nothing better to do... it annoys me to no end. This takes so much restraint to not want to kick someone senseless.

[prashantsingh]

Now read this
uttarakhandnews1.blogspot/.../ex-army-mans-body-found-eaten-by-leopard.httml

A day after the "maneater" is killed, an ex army man is found dead.
Killed by a leopard.

[TwoRivers]

Isn't capture+relocation an option? Or are these "save big cats" campaigns just for people who have nothing better to do... it annoys me to no end. This takes so much restraint to not want to kick someone senseless.

Capture isn't that easy, and relocation usually doesn't work, the animal returns to its home range. Besides, relocation just puts the problem into someone else's backyard.

[xl_target]

With due respect to his efforts,I wonder if all the leopards he shot were man-eaters. How do they ascertain that the shot animal is a man eater? Is there a method to it or is it just a shoot and pray affair? I also would like to know how the Forest Department goes about the entire procedure.

Vikram,
You have touched the heart of the matter, as usual.

Not everyone is as reverent of animal life and as careful to make a positive identification as our own Prashantsingh.