Man Eater of Thunag Killed?

[Safarigent]

Hyderabadi hunter Khan summoned to kill the animal
Famed Hyderabadi hunter Nawab Shafat Ali Khan on Sunday shot dead a man-eating leopard that had been terrorising people of the Thunag hamlet in Himachal Pradesh’s Mandi district.

Mr. Khan, a licensed hunter, was at his Ooty resort in Tamil Nadu when he received a frantic call from the Dogra District Forest Officer. The Himachal Pradesh government had issued orders to kill the predator and Mr. Khan was asked to rush to Mandi.

Mr. Khan, 53, obliged to forgo the Id celebrations, picked up his 458 Magnum rifle from Hyderabad and rushed to Delhi on August 8.

The next day, upon reaching Thunag, 250 km from Chandigarh, Mr. Khan surveyed the village with forest officials, who briefed him of the spots where the leopard had struck.

Radha Devi, 25, was attacked by the animal as she made her way home on July 18. It devoured her completely, leaving behind only her head and hands. On July 26, the leopard dragged Mani Devi ,52, away from her home even as her husband and son rushed out to find her bleeding grievously.

Two days later, 30-year-old Kashmiri Singh’s body was found half-eaten in the jungle.

In the “vast hilly area dominated by thick forest”, Mr. Khan was able to trace the “game track” thanks to the rain the previous night. He found the man-eater, all 7’2’’ of it, lounging amid the dense foliage early on Sunday. Even as the feline charged at him, Mr. Khan fired at its neck and the big cat collapsed.

As the carcass was brought to Thunag, locals erupted in wild celebrations. “This is real Id for me as I could bring relief to the panicked villagers,” said the hunter, who had killed a tiger in Faizabad in 2009. Officials say the leopard had strayed into human habitat due to lack of natural prey such as sambar and barking deer in the hilly terrain.


Link:
http://m.thehindu.com/news/national/man ... e.co.in%2F

I wonder how this particular specimen was identified as THE maneater?
Or if the Autopsy provided an understanding of why(if this was indeed the maneater) the leopard had turned into a maneater?

[Sakobav]

This gentleman earlier shot a supposedly man eater tiger if I recall. Does he have a special license or qualification? Why him from Hyderabad? there must be enough shikaris around HP etc..

[prashantsingh]

What a beautiful leopard.
Hats off to the Nawab.

[Vikram]

I wonder how this particular specimen was identified as THE maneater?
Or if the Autopsy provided an understanding of why(if this was indeed the maneater) the leopard had turned into a maneater?

My thoughts.

Prashant, any idea why such a beast in its prime would resort to taking humans while other prey like dogs,goats etc are available? Thank you.


Best-
Vikram

[dhruv67]

http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/t ... 026304.ece

nice article on why 'hunters' should NOT be called in.

If big cats are to survive in this country, a credible alternative has to be found to the colonial-era hunter in dealing with 'man-eaters'

A hunter posing proudly near the carcass of a leopard he killed is still, in the 21st century, India’s answer to attacks on humans by leopards. No doubt a human being killed by a leopard is a very serious issue. It affects the lives of people, often those who have always lived in close proximity with these animals, and it needs to be addressed in the best possible way so that human welfare is not compromised, either in the short term or the long term.

But is killing a leopard the solution? In fact, how do you prove the leopard that was killed was the one that was attacking people? Leopards are social. It is not uncommon for many animals to interact and move together. Many individuals can use the same path on the same night, a few minutes apart. Therefore how do we know which animal was the man-eater? Furthermore, pugmarks are impossible as a tool to distinguish between different leopards. How then could pugmarks have been used to identify “the” man-eater?

Calling in hunters to kill “man-eaters” is simply an easy way to assuage local panic. When a human death occurs and, as in the Himachal case, when three people are killed in a span of a couple of weeks, fear grips the local populace. The politicians want action and the only visible and immediate action is to kill any leopard and show it as a “man-eater”. The Himachal leopard whose carcass the hunter — summoned to kill it all the way from Hyderabad — is proudly posing with (“Man-eater hunted down, Himachal villagers breathe easy”, Aug. 12) appears to be a large male, at least two to three years old. Was he the real culprit?

That question is important because another attack occurred in the same region in the night after he was killed. Now there will be pressure to kill yet one more leopard because we do not know what else can be done. But why do large cats like leopards attack humans? There are no ready answers.

Many opinions, no knowledge

Like all wild animals, leopards, too, are extremely scared of humans and their first reaction is to run away from humans. Why then, should such a scared animal surmount a deep fear and kill humans? To explain this in India we have only numerous opinions and no knowledge that can help us better understand the reasons. The two most common opinions are: habitat destruction and lack of food.

Neither is an adequate explanation. With regard to habitat, leopards have always lived close to settlements and preyed on dogs and goats and still do. Yet human attacks occur only in some places or only in some periods, as for instance in the Sanjay Gandhi National Park, Mumbai where between 2002 and 2004, as many as 84 people were attacked. Between 2006 and 2012 no confirmed human deaths occurred due to leopards.

As for food, a leopard has a home range of about 20 sq.km. and all it needs is about a goat-sized animal per week. That means 52 dogs/goats in 20 sq.km. in a year. Average livestock density in our country is much higher and the leopard really does not need to kill humans for food.

Inappropriate intervention

In Maharashtra we found that biologically inappropriate interventions — such as capture from human-use areas and release in far away forests — increased attacks on people near the release sites. Once these interventions were stopped, so did the conflict, even though leopards are still present in the human-use areas today. The area I work in the Ahmednagar district and for most parts of Maharashtra, leopard attacks on humans are much rarer even though leopards are present.

Leopards are territorial with strong social bonds between related females and mother and cubs. Suddenly moving a stressed-out cat from its familiar environs to a new one would only make for a desperate animal that has no idea where it can get food and water in the new site. And India has so many people worsening the effect of such interventions for humans itself.

A study on tiger attacks in the Russian Far East has found that most of the attacks were provoked either intentionally (e.g. because people were hunting the tigers) or unintentionally (as when a vehicle hit a cub and the mother responded by attacking people on the road).

New research on mountain lions in the U.S. finds that areas where large animals are killed by trophy hunters has a similar density of mountain lions compared to areas where there is no trophy hunting. This is because younger animals colonise the vacant areas. The researchers propose that since the younger animals are new to the area, it increases the possibility of conflict with humans in areas where such hunting goes on. This is particularly important in a high-population country like India.

In India, Uttarakhand, where humans have been attacked by leopards for decades, and Himachal also have severe hunting pressures where leopards are killed in large numbers for the illegal wildlife trade. A question is whether this killing is actually increasing the conflict and leading to loss of human lives. But until targeted research is carried out, people will continue to die, as will leopards.

Unfortunately, the knowledge deficit on the issue has led to a proliferation of opinions that are blocking a resolution. On the one hand, India is a land that values knowledge and we have sent satellites into space, have high-class research institutions that train scientists and students, and export our “brains” abroad. On the other, we still are at a complete loss to explain why a species behaves aggressively in some places whereas it is peaceful in others. We take the recourse of getting a hunter to kill the animal as we did in British times.

(The writer is a wildlife biologist with Wildlife Conservation Society-India.)

[brihacharan]

Instead of shooting the Leopard to kill - It should either have been trapped / tranquilized and sent to a Zoo...
as releasing it back into the jungles elsewhere will only result in it looking for the easier human prey in its new locale...
From the photograph the animal looks in its prime & an in excellent coat.
Briha

[TC]

This gentleman earlier shot a supposedly man eater tiger if I recall. Does he have a special license or qualification? Why him from Hyderabad? there must be enough shikaris around HP etc..

My friend I don't know anything about this particular gentleman and can only hope that he is a man with experience. But you will be surprised to know how hunters are chosen by state administrations these days. Can't say anything more in an open forum but consider these.

a) If we assume that a registered hunter (that's the official term used) enlisted with the offices of the wildlife warden and conservator of forest has to be a man who is physically fit, has ENOUGH experience of identifying and tracking a certain animal in the wild and shoot it down using minimum force or causing harm to other animals or people living in forestland then how old should the hunter be now ?

b) when was hunting banned in India?

c) when was import of arms and ammo banned ? ( I am not talking of 22s for Olympians here !)

d) does the Indian government have any facility to take registered hunters to countries where hunting of certain wild life (I hate to use the word game here) is still legal or allowed against fees so that these people may undergo training ?

If you know the answers I am sure you will understand how difficult a job is must be for the government to hunt for a real hunter ...

TC

[prashantsingh]

Officials say the leopard had strayed into human habitat due to lack of natural prey such as sambar and barking deer in the hilly terrain.

There's your answer Vikram.

Just not enough food for the big cats.
Deforestation and loss of habitat
cattle feeding within forest areas
man entering forests looking for fodder and firewood.
poaching of not only the big cats but of smaller game they feed on.

[mundaire]

I'm told that the same team has apparently just shot another "maneater" in the same area of Himachal Pradesh. Either all the leopards in that area are maneaters, or someone isn't too picky about which one they whack!

[marksman]

For all you know, you may hear a lot of man eating incidences in the near future. Uttarakhand tragedy may have dispersed quite number of dead in the unknown and difficult terrain. Maybe it's repeat of what Carpet Saheb described as the aftermath of the deadly disease that spread over in the hills and killed many in his time and that as he assumed resulted into the cats taking to man eating. Just my two penny thought.

Marksman

[Biren]

I come from a district where leopards, let me use the word wild cats and ppl lived in peacefull co-existence for centuries... there use to be incidents where cattles were lifted and also true ppl lived with that... Old folks tell that the forests are not that denser then in their days... more trees now more green cover.. but then its also in true that in name of green cover pines trees are indiscrimately grown... domestic animals not allow to graze in jungles..

It was all there then as its now.. cats lifting domestic animals at night.. or incidents where grazing cattles were killed during day time.. its just that now humans have become more intolerent..(let me say this on behalf of wild cats).. leopards are clever...

PPL at hills stay at first floor and cattles at ground floor (gooth.. native language.. ).. it was made sure that animals were bolted at night.. still there used to incidents of cattle lifting..

I still remember of reaching home at night or enjoying ghost stories in moon lit nights out in the court yard with no fear of wild cats..

Honestly ppl lived peacefully.. with risk as are or where .. just think of city dewellers... motor accidents... but then you donnt ban (accidently wrote BAR..) running vechicles)... now this is something americans will call "collateral damgaze." There is this wild cat out and expect it to behave like a Goat... or sheep..(am not saying HUMANS here) that way we should to protect ourself sent those to ZOO.. cut all those forests...

We got to think selfishly... minimize collteral damgae....till the time those are there...out in wild... some crackers .. some sparks will fly... reminds us... raise ur hairs...there is out a beautifull majestic ... whose roars..

Cheers
Biren

[Katana]

Pretty quick to dispense with the big cat, what say?

[Amit357]

Pretty quick to dispense with the big cat, what say?

My thoughts exactly,wonder what kind of glasses does the Nawab where, ones that can differentiate between Normal & Man------,i wont even call these poor cats that,who saw the reports of the people killed,did the cat feed on them,or was it a accidental encounter,3 cats have been put down and now the govt says that none are man eaters.Think any poor Leopard in H.P is fair game,today the Nawab has been shunted out & the job has been given to the local guys,Will this bring back the cats,or should the shooter be prosecuted under relevant sections of the Wildlife Act for 1.Shooting a Sch 1 Animal,2 misleading the people regarding his glasses,3 Looking for cheap publicity.Moderators you may find my views not acceptable,have 4{atleast the ones i have seen} of these beautiful creatures within a KM of my place in the hills,hear them very often,1 was only aggressive once{ a female with her cub} and i dont think shooting them without idying them is the solution,The nawab might get his kicks out of putting an innocent dead cat on his shoulders and posing for photos for national dailys,but i would call it as one of the most callous kind of shooting.We have rouges in Humans too,do let me know if you see any Jailor/Judge/Jury/Hangmen carrying the one they have put down on their shoulders and posing for national dailys.

[prashantsingh]

Pretty quick to dispense with the big cat, what say?

,3 cats have been put down and now the govt says that none are man eaters.

Shocking.


How many human kills have taken place after the first leopard was shot?
What is the urgency of shooting down two more within such a short time?

[Amit357]

Prashant one was a cub,the other a juvenile,and the 3rd a female,their only fault was that the said area happened to be their home range,you have people running around with searchlites and rifles,i would fear for any kind of wildlife,leave aside these poor cats.