A leopard, clicked by trap cameras in the forests of Purulia in the south-western part of West Bengal, has kept foresters on their toes.
The leopard was clicked in the forests of Kotshila, around 280km from Kolkata, on February 22, said a forest official.
This is the first time a leopard has been photographed in the forests of south Bengal, according to the forest department.
Anecdotal evidence has for long suggested the presence of leopards in the area. In 2015, a leopard that had strayed into a village on the fringes of the same forest was clobbered to death by residents, who hung the carcass on a tree.
Serving and retired forest officials said the department should “assess the option” of capturing the animal and relocating it.
They pointed to an incident in 2018 when a tiger that had strayed into the forests of Lalgarh in Jhargram was beaten to death by villagers.
“The people living in villages near the jungles of Jhargram, Purulia, Bankura and Paschim Medinipur are not used to living with leopards,” said a retired official.
Elephants from Dalma in Jharkhand are found routinely in the forests of south Bengal. They regularly stray into human settlements for food.
Multiple incidents of elephant deaths in the recent past suggest the leopard, which is suspected to have come from Jharkhand, could be at risk in the area, said officials.
The forest department, however, is not considering capture and relocation. For now, foresters are banking on awareness drives.
Debal Ray, chief wildlife warden of Bengal, said “extra effort” was being put in to avoid a repeat of 2015.
“The leopard is in the forest. There is a solid prey base of smaller animals like deer, wild boar and hare in the forests. There is no need to relocate it,” said Ray.
“We are organising regular awareness camps in the surrounding villages. So far, the response has been positive.”
Ravi Kant Sinha, a former chief wildlife warden of Bengal, said the forests of south Bengal can be “good leopard habitats”.
“Unlike tigers, which are solitary animals, leopards do not have a problem living near human settlements. Leopards prey on smaller animals like dogs and goats, found in villages in plenty,” he said.
The forest of Kotshila shares boundaries with the forest of Jharkhand. The area is a corridor for wild animals. The leopard is suspected to have come from Jharkhand.
The trap cameras were set after the carcass of a cow was spotted near the Kotshila forests.
“The cameras are still there. We are trying to find out if there is more than one leopard in the area,” said a forest official.