Ahmed Ali Fayyaz/Srinagar

Encroachment of wildlife habitat has been arrested with the enforcement of different laws to a great extent in Jammu and Kashmir, but it has not ended the man-animal conflict in the Union Territory as many attacks by wild animals have come to light in the last three years.

The Department of Wildlife Protection data reveals that most of the attacks on human beings have been by leopards and black bears and both are highly endangered animals.

So far 32 persons have died in fatal attacks and 296 were injured in the last three years. According to Rashid Yehya Naqash, Regional Wildlife Warden Kashmir, and Altaf Hussain Deenthu, Central Wildlife Warden, 10 persons have died in attacks by leopards and Himalayan black in 2021-22, and 75 sustained injuries.

Officials moving away a tranquilised black bear from a Kashmir village

In all, 18 persons were killed and 118 were left injured by the wild animals. Nine fatal attacks and 136 injuries have been reported in the current year till 6th of December.

Some parts of the Kashmir valley have become a virtual battleground of man-animal conflict. In the recent past, leopards and black bears have even been spotted and captured by wildlife authorities in the public parks of Srinagar and Jammu cities.

North Kashmir in particular has seen a steep rise in such attacks.

Wildlife experts attribute the growing instances of man-animal clashes to changes in land use, deforestation, and the shrinking natural habitats of the animals. These have pushed animals closer to human settlements in search of food.

A child injured by a wild animal being treated at a hospital in Kashmir

“Conflict between humans and animals is witnessing a surge and the main reason is human interference. Had we not invaded their habitat, they would not have been foraging for food in populated neighbourhoods”, wildlife Department official Farooq Ahmad said.

Officials from the wildlife department urged people not to take matters into their own hands but to inform the department. They assured immediate action in response to calls for assistance to ensure the safety of both humans and wildlife.

Bashir Ahmad Shah of Gangbug Lolab, a retired officer of the Jammu and Kashmir narrated how a middle-aged woman of his family was attacked and left critically injured by a black bear inside a greenhouse. Year-long treatment and multiple surgical procedures helped the woman recover even as her face remains disfigured. 

According to Naqash, the man-animal conflict in Kashmir has claimed around 250 lives while 3,000 persons have sustained injuries in such attacks since 2006.

The main reason behind the conflict is the interference of humans in the wildlife habitats, Naqash said. He said this interaction has been there from time immemorial when the human population was less and the wild land was plenty.

According to Naqash, conflicts between man and wildlife have risen significantly due to the interventions in the wildlife habitat. The presence and interference of over a dozen government departments have been marked even in the Dachigam National Park, a habitat of the Kashmiri red deer Hangul, leopard, and black bear.

Before human intervention, all wildland used to be under forests that are known as grazing land, but, now, it has been taken up for agriculture or horticulture use, he said. These horticulture landscapes have either been grown on the fringe of the forests or inside them.

A tranquilised leopard being shifted from a populated area by wildlife officials

from a According to the official statistics, in 2013 and 2014, the total number of deaths in such attacks was 28, which declined to 10 in 2022. In 2013, there were 28 killings and 333 injuries. However, the fatal attacks came down to 10 and just 89 injuries were reported in 2022.

Naqash says that every interaction cannot be termed as conflict and there have been appearances of such animals in human habitation which are categorised under conflict but are not so in the real sense. “When they spot a movement, the animals often resort to their original corridors without harming any life or property,” he said. 

Many wild animals such as leopards, black bears, and brown bears have adapted to live in human-dominated landscapes, Naqash said.

“Leopards are not restricted to jungles and have their territory now. These changes have made them often migrate to places where they can find a little shelter and food. Dogs are the main delicacies to them and they have developed a habit to urbanize, they feed and breed,” Naqash said.

The department acts as soon as it gets an SOS call, but these conflicts are not restricted to any particular area so the department cannot set up a team everywhere, he said.

So, to manage such things and take appropriate steps, the department has established 22 rescue control rooms around the Kashmir landscapes that are available round-the-clock.

A leopard caught from a village

“Our habitation areas, like the city here, have spread out and come close to the forests. The buffers have decreased. Food availability in urban or suburban areas has increased. Leopards get shelter easily in the form of dense vegetation, and abandoned plots, so, with the availability of proper shelter and food, the animal can easily change its areas”, Central Wildlife Warden Deenthu asserted.

"Proper research on the changes in the habits of wildlife to further control is important. Strategies to balance this coexistence between humans and wildlife and awareness are equally important,” he said.

On the other hand, according to official data from 2011 to 2020, 44 leopards died naturally or in people’s attacks, while four more were killed after official permission.

Experts believe that habitat fragmentation, changes in land use patterns, and encroachment of forests are some of the main reasons for wild animals frequenting places that they never did before and for the rise in conflicts.

The government provides an ex-gratia relief of up to Rs 3 lakh in case of the death or permanent disability of the victim. In other cases, the amount varies between Rs. 5,000 and Rs. 300,000, depending on the nature and extent of the injury. Officials said that Rs 10 crore had been granted in favour of the victims of man-animal conflict from 2006 to 2022.