Mumbai: Wildlife SOS continued its ‘Open Wells Conservation Project’ initiative to cover open wells in rural Maharashtra to safeguard leopards and other wild animals. Under this initiative, five new wells were covered in Maharashtra’s Junnar region.
With the dual approach of covering open wells and conducting awareness sessions on a mass scale, fateful incidences of leopards falling inside open wells have dropped drastically. Fewer such cases were registered in the past year in Maharashtra’s Junnar region.
Following the success, Wildlife SOS, in collaboration with the Maharashtra forest department, and under the guidance of the Junnar Forest Division, covered five new wells in Junnar’s Hivare Narayangaon, Warulwadi, Nimgaon Sawa, Pimpari Pendhar and Ane.
By covering open wells and conducting awareness sessions on a mass scale, fateful incidences of leopards and other animals falling inside open wells were prevented. |
One of the wells being covered in Nimgaon Sawa saw a positive impact, as the number of leopard incidents falling into wells has drastically decreased over the past year. |
As part of the project, the team conducted a field study, speaking with well owners to identify locations where falls frequently occur. The observations revealed that leopards fall into wells while hunting. Most of the leopards were found to have fallen while chasing domestic animals such as dogs, cats, goats and cows. In these areas, domestic animals are left outside following which leopards come near the houses for hunting during the evening time. In the process of chasing prey, amidst the chaos, the leopard ends up falling into the well.
Statement Of Manager Of Wildlife SOS's Manikdoh Leopard Rescue Centre
Mahendra Dhore, manager of Wildlife SOS’ Manikdoh Leopard Rescue Centre, said, “Over the past two years, we have conducted awareness campaigns in high-risk areas, educating local people, including school children. In various schools, we are educating students about wild animals through outreach programs and advising the residents to not let their pets roam outside at night but to keep them in enclosed spaces.”
A well being covered in Junnar's Hivare Narayangaon |
Wildlife SOS claimed that these awareness campaigns have had a significant positive impact, as the number of leopard incidents falling into wells has drastically decreased over the past year. In the Junnar Forest Division, there have been fewer such incidents in the past year. As part of the awareness campaigns, the combined teams of Wildlife SOS and the forest department are advising the local people and farmers to keep their pets indoors so that leopards do not approach human settlements.
Statement Of Assistant Conservator Of Forests, Junnar Forest Division
Smita Rajhans, Assistant Conservator of Forests, Junnar Forest Division, said, “We are happy to assist Wildlife SOS in this crucial conservation project. It is a solution-oriented approach which has seen significant impact in saving the lives of wild animals.”
Statement Of Co-Founder & CEO, Wildlife SOS
Kartick Satyanarayan, Co-founder and CEO, Wildlife SOS said, “We are committed to making every effort to ensure that leopards and other wild animals do not fall into wells, and we will continue to work towards this goal with utmost dedication.”
