The Junnar Forest Department, District Collector and Chairman of the District Disaster Management Authority Dr Suhas Diwase has declared 233 sensitive villages in Junnar, Ambegaon, Shirur, and Khed talukas as 'Potential Leopard Conflict Zone' under sections of the Disaster Management Act, 2005.
The decision came in a backdrop of increasing incidents of human injuries and deaths due to leopard attacks in the past five years.
The eastern part of the district, including Junnar, Ambegaon, Khed, and Shirur talukas, fall under the Junnar Forest Department, which manages areas sequentially in the departments of irrigation projects.
Irrigation projects and leopards
Major and minor irrigation projects such as Dimbhe, Manikdoh, Pipalgaon Jog, Badhan, Chilhewadi, and Chaskaman have improved irrigation facilities. Due to the availability of water, long-term crops such as sugarcane, bananas, grapes, and pulses are cultivated in large quantities. This has led to an increase in human settlements in agricultural areas, making it easier for leopards to access the habitats in these cultivation areas. The leopards’ actual residence in sugarcane fields. Over the past 23 years, human-leopard conflicts have increased in the forest department.
According to the Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, which has conducted studies in this area, the density of leopard populations in Junnar Forest Department has increased to 6-7 leopards per 100 sqkm. It is estimated that the total number of leopards in Junnar, Ambegaon, Khed, and Shirur talukas could be between 400 and 450. In the past five years, a total of 40 serious injuries and 16 deaths have occurred in leopard attacks.
Due to the increase in human-leopard conflicts in this area, the current area has become an area of human-leopard conflict. The extent of injuries and deaths in leopard attacks has been observed, and the current area has been declared as a 'Potential Leopard Conflict Zone' under the Disaster Management Act.
