Assessment of human-leopard interaction in Vansda Taluka, South Gujarat

Abstract

The leopard has been a menace in the Vansda Taluka since the occurrence of negative interaction with this cat has increased many folds in the last decade. In 42 villages of Vansda Taluka, 29 human casualties were reported in five zones of the study area in the last ten years and out of them, maximum incidents were reported in North zone (n=8), whereas the least were from West zone (n=2). Farmers working in the sugarcane fields have been found the most vulnerable in this study. Out of total casualties on humans, the highest (n=10, 32.14%) were reported in the age group of 31 to 40 years, followed by 21 to 30 years (21.4%). The highest casualties (n=21, 75%) were in the evening time between 4 to10 pm, whereas 26.5% casualties were in the morning 4to10am. 66 % incidents have been experienced during the crop operation work followed by livestock rearing (22%) and household work (12 %). The study shows a significant variation in the activities of the victim while the attack of leopard coincides with time, location and type of activity. A base map has been prepared by using 0.79 cm scale to understand the activity of leopards and chances of human interaction in the study area