Leopard captured in a forest department cage near Banasi village in Nainidanda block of Pauri Garhwal

Pauri Garhwal: A leopard was captured in a forest department cage near Banasi village in Nainidanda block of Pauri Garhwal on Wednesday, days after a woman was killed in a leopard attack in the same area, ending days of panic among local residents. Forest officials said the animal was tranquillised on the spot and has been kept under observation. It will now be taken to a rescue centre for medical and behavioural examination to determine if it is the same “man-eater” involved in the recent fatal attack. Authorities have pointed out that several leopards are active in the region, so confirmation will depend on veterinary tests, pugmark analysis and behavioural assessment. After the capture, officials urged villagers to avoid moving alone in forested patches, especially during dawn and dusk, and said surveillance would continue in nearby areas.

Uttarakhand’s hill districts have a long history of human-leopard conflict, and a few cases have become part of record. Between 1907 and 1910, a leopard in the Panar area of Almora was blamed for more than 400 human deaths before hunter Jim Corbett shot it in 1910. A few years later, the “Rudraprayag man-eater” killed over 125 people between 1918 and 1926 and was also eliminated by Corbett after an eight-year pursuit.

Forest department records show that in recent years Pauri, Chamoli, Bageshwar and Almora have reported multiple fatal attacks, and in 2016-2017 and again in 2018, leopards declared man-eaters by the state were killed by department sharpshooters after capture efforts failed and orders were issued under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. A single most popular professional hunters Joy Hukeel of Pauri, Pauri Garhwal has to his credit killing fifty maneaters on the calmbif the government.

Today, lethal removal is permitted only as a last measure. The Act allows it only when the Chief Wildlife Warden declares an animal a threat to human life after repeated attacks and unsuccessful attempts to trap or tranquilise it. In practice, teams now rely first on camera traps, cage traps and veterinary intervention. If the Banasi leopard is confirmed as a man-eater, it is expected to be held in permanent captivity. If tests rule it out, officials may consider relocating it to a deeper forest zone, depending on the risk assessment for nearby villages.