Scientists from India and Norway, in a collaborative research study on leopard attacks in Himachal Pradesh, have found that attacks were seasonal in nature following people’s activities associated with the changing agricultural seasonal landscape, rather than just one problematic leopard causing attacks.
In the study titled ‘Examining leopard attacks: Spatio-temporal clustering of human injuries and deaths in Western Himalayas, India’, the team of scientists, including those from Bengaluru-based Centre for Wildlife Studies, explored the idea of identifying patterns of leopard attack spread, just like epidemiologists identify disease spread.
“People in India share space with wildlife, even with large carnivores such as lions, tigers, and leopards. While coexisting with these carnivores, occasionally incidences of big cat attacks occur. Stories of individual problem animals persist in historical accounts of man-eater leopards and tigers, and in people’s memories,” said the Centre for Wildlife Studies.
Signature patterns
In this context, scientists from India and Norway examined if it is possible to identify signature attack patterns caused by problematic individuals of big cats such as leopards on people.
According to the Centre for Wildlife Studies, a total of 287 non-lethal and 30 lethal injuries on people due to leopards could be verified in Himachal Pradesh between 2004 and 2015.
Among these, the scientists found 44 attacks by leopards displaying signatures of being unprovoked, or potentially predatory. However, these unprovoked attacks did not cluster (concentration of attacks in space and time) during the study period. This indicates that attacks where people were dragged away or bitten on the throat, were few, and occurred randomly in the study areas.
The authors of the study speculate that the leopards might even have been removed immediately from the area, following one attack on a person. On the other hand, attacks on people by leopards that did not display predatory signatures, clustered into 12 areas over the 11-year period.
“Interestingly, the duration of these clusters were within 10 months. This means that within a particular cluster, attacks stopped occurring continuously after 10 months, even though it was well within one leopard’s home territory and lifespan. It can be surmised that attacks were seasonal in nature attached to people’s activities associated with the changing agricultural seasonal landscape,” the Centre for Wildlife Studies said.
Scientific assessment
It added that management of leopard conflict needs to be scientifically assessed prior to moving or capturing animals and releasing them in new locations.
The lead author of the study, Shweta Shivakumar, said that little scientific research has been conducted with rigorous data to examine this key issue. “Through our research insights, we have a unique opportunity to inform leopard management policy. This will enhance efforts towards improving human safety and building awareness about leopard ecology,” said Ms. Shivakumar.
