Pune: As the human-leopard conflict is increasing day by day in the district, a slew of measures will be taken to prevent leopard attacks, including an 'Artificial Intelligence' (AI) system in highly sensitive areas, and drone surveys to record the number of leopards.
Meanwhile, 17 leopards have been captured so far in Shirur and Ambegaon talukas, and all these leopards have been kept in the 'Manikdoh Leopard Prevention Centre' in Junnar. Also, a control room has been set up at the district level in the wake of leopard attacks.
A meeting was held at the District Collector's Office on Tuesday under the chairmanship of Pune Collector Jitendra Dudi to plan measures in the wake of human-leopard conflict. It was decided to take some measures. Junnar Division Deputy Conservator of Forests Prashant Khade, Pune Division Deputy Conservator of Forests Mahadev Mohite, Regional and Wildlife Department Assistant Conservator of Forests, and Forest Range Officer were present on this occasion. The incidents in the leopard-prone areas of the district were reviewed in this meeting.
Methods like an AI system, solar night surveillance drone, camera traps, and sound alert systems have been implemented in highly sensitive villages. At present, 262 cages are available with the Junnar Forest Department, and work is underway to construct the remaining cages. It was also informed in the meeting that the process of purchasing other necessary materials has also been started.
“700 cages will be made available immediately from other districts or states. For this, suppliers, organisations or companies that can make cages available immediately will be contacted. These cages will be made available in villages declared as potential leopard-prone areas,” said Dudi.
It was decided to hold a gram sabha and inform the citizens about the measures, incidents in the district and the ongoing action on it. A joint monitoring committee will also be formed at the village level, and experienced persons, forest disaster friends, NGOs and volunteers will be included in it.
Through this committee, a drone survey will be conducted, and the number of leopards found in the village will be recorded. Apart from this, Dudi also ordered to increase patrols in the village and formulate a standard operating procedure (SOP) in accordance with the leopard attack.
New leopard habitat centre
Currently, the Manikdoh leopard prevention centre has a capacity to house 50 leopards, and there are currently 67 leopards. Since the number of leopards is increasing in the district, the Pune Collector also suggested setting up new leopard habitat centres at various places, such as Junnar Forest Department, which will accommodate 1,000 leopards, and Pune Forest Department, which will accommodate 500 leopards.
In the wake of the leopard attack, a control room has been set up at the district level. This control room will be functional 24 hours a day, and the control room can be contacted on the toll-free number 18003033.
