Roped in Wildlife Department Institute of India for census, says regional wildlife warden Kashmir
Jahangir Sofi
Srinagar, 24 June: While a surge is being witnessed in the number of Man- animal conflicts in the valley, the wildlife department has decided to start the census of the Leopard population in Kashmir.
Regional wildlife warden Kashmir, Rashid Naqash while speaking with The Straight Line said, till now there has been no landscape data available to ascertain the Leopard population in the valley, and to mark the census the department of wildlife protection Kashmir has roped in The Wildlife Department Institute of India Dehradun, and other nodal agencies to start the census of the leopards in the valley.
According to the reports, the process of the census of leopards in some Jammu parts has already begun and is expected to start in the valley very soon.
Pertinent to mention that, man-animal conflict has seen a surge in the recent past, with Leopards being spotted in residential areas of the valley, while many have also been caught by the wildlife department Kashmir.
According to the official data available with The Straight Line (TSL) from the year 2017 till now, in a man-animal conflict around 32 people have lost their lives and 432 people have been injured.
The data further reveals that from the year 2006 till ending March 2021, a total of 224 deaths have been reported in man-animal conflict, while 2829 have been injured. The wildlife department also set around 22 control rooms in the valley, according to the data.
