The man-eater wolves of Bahraich, responsible for 10 killings in Mahsi tehsil, are perhaps not the only predators on the prowl. In Uttar Pradesh’s Bijnor district, more than 60,000 people in around 85 villages across its four tehsils, said to be home to at least 500 leopards, have been facing a huge threat as a leap of man-eater leopards that has claimed 25 lives over the past one and a half years, has been out on a killing spree.
Though UP Forest Department has installed around 107 cages and has launched a grueling operation to catch the man-eater leopards, it is yet to bring any respite to the locals who are forced to stay indoors and are living under constant fear.
Once a vibrant hamlet, Pilana lies eerily quiet
Pilana, a once vibrant hamlet in Bijnor’s Chandpur tehsil, now lies eerily quiet. Where once men and women worked in the fields, shops bustled, and locals gathered at tea stalls discussing politics, there is now silence. Children, who once played cricket on the streets, have been absent, and women no longer gather in groups to chat.
The fear of man-eater leopards has forced residents to stay indoors after 5 pm, marking a sharp change in the village’s once-busy daily life.
“Humare gaon ko kisi ki nazar lag gayi, ab yahan woh pehle wali baat nahi rahi (Our village has caught an evil eye, now it is not as before). Our’s used to be the happiest village in the entire Chandpur tehsil,” said Kuldeep Mudgal, a local who hails from Pilana village.
Kuldeep blamed a leap of man-eater leopards for the change.
“Located at a distance of around 15 km from the dense forest, spotting leopards, whom in local parlance people call ‘Guldar’, was no alien thing for the people. But, the usual scenario changed suddenly in January 2023 when the first man-animal conflict was reported in our region,” Kuldeep told News18.
He said the leopard-attack soon became a routine affair and this changed the lifestyle completely.
87 villages under the man-eater leopard threat
Pilana is perhaps not the only village to be hounded by the leopard attacks. As per the records with the UP’s forest department, there are around 87 villages, the department said, that have been bracketed under hypersensitive villages, falling in four leopard sensitive tehsils of Bijnor.
“On the basis of leopard sighting and man-animal conflict, we have marked around 87 villages, falling in the four tehsils of Bijnor under hyper sensitive category. These villages fall between 8 to 15 km from the dense forest area,” said Gyan Singh, Divisional Forest Officer (DFO), Bijnor.
While highlighting the efforts, which UP Forest department has put in to keep a check on the leopard menace in the region, Singh said that the department has pressed in a team of foresters to catch the man-eater leopard and have launched a grueling operation.
Singh said people have been asked not to go alone to collect fodder, play radio or songs on mobile phones while going into the field or move into groups. Other than creating awareness among the villagers and advising them not to venture out in the dark, the department has also placed around 107 cages in different locations to capture the man-eater leopards. However, the attack on the villagers is still a routine affair.
25th kill since January 2023
Of the others, the killing of a 30-year-old farmer in Bijnor’s Chandpur tehsil on August 29, night was the latest incident in the series of incidents of leopard attacks reported in Bijnor.
According to the locals, the attack took place when the farmer, identified as Brijpal Saini, went out in the field to collect fodder for his cattle. “He went to collect some fodder when the family members heard a loud shriek of Brijpal. When the family members rushed to the field, they discovered blood marks. However, after searching for almost an hour, the villagers discovered the half-eaten body of the farmer lying in the fields,” the villagers said.
The farmer, Brajpal Saini, is survived by two daughters and a wife. His partially eaten body was found in a Bagadpur farm field with severe wounds on his back and chest. The latest incident marks the fourth death by leopard attacks in a month and the 25th since Jan 2023.
The Minister’s visit
UP minister of state (independent charge) for forests, Dr Arun Kumar, had also visited Jalalpur Bhood, one of the leopard-infested areas on September 2. The minister met the locals, assured all possible help and met local officials and representatives, stressing the need for immediate action to prevent more fatalities. He directed the installation of cages and camera traps in areas with frequent leopard sightings and prioritised the power supply to the affected villages to improve safety at night hours.
67 leopards captured, 35 killed, around 500 still on the prowl
So far, the forest department has captured around 65 leopards. Of these, the latest one was captured on September 10 in Hur Nagla village of Nagina tehsil. “We had placed the cage in a field near Hur Nagla village of Nagina tehsil when the villagers informed us about the spotting of leopard. The next morning, when the villagers went to the field, they found a female feline trapped in the cage. They informed the forest department,” said Singh.
He said on the same day, they also got the information about another leopard that was accidentally trapped in a dry well. “Our team managed to rescue the leopard and caged it later,” added Singh.
What caused the mayhem?
The DFO said it’s the population explosion, which is to be blamed for. The DFO said, often referred to as the sugarcane leopards of Bijnor, the sugarcane fields serve as the safe haven to the leopards, however, the favourable condition further boosted the leopard population. “And this resulted in the rise in man-animal conflicts in Bijnor,” he said. While calling it a ‘grave issue’, the DFO said that he has recommended the state government to set up units of wildlife experts, WWF India and WII (Wildlife Institute of India) in the district to study the problem and find a permanent solution to the problem.
11 leopard captured in last 19 days
In the past 19 days, he said this was the 11th leopard to be captured in the area, taking the total number of leopards captured in the last one and a half years to 67. “In the past 18 months, around 67 leopards have been captured, while 35 were killed in various incidents, including man-animal conflicts, road accidents, and other mishaps.
Despite these numbers, a significant leopard population continues to thrive in the region, posing an ongoing threat in the region,” said Singh while roughly estimating the population of leopards to around 500 in the region.
107 cages placed, foresters raised the demand of 100 more cages
Recently, during a meeting called over the growing leopard threat, chaired by District Magistrate Ankit Agarwal, the divisional director of social forestry, Bijnor, placed a demand for 100 more cages to address the growing human-wildlife conflict caused by leopards. Besides, the forester also submitted cage designs and specifications from principal chief conservator of forests, wildlife, Uttar Pradesh.
Agrawal has instructed the chief development officer to ask local MPs and MLAs to allocate funds for cages. Additionally, he directed village panchayats, blocks, and district panchayat boards to provide cages to trap leopards threatening villagers.
Armed with pointed iron rods and ‘jugaad’ to keep leopards at bay
Despite staying indoors, villagers say it’s impossible for everyone to always move in groups. Village paths pass through sugarcane fields, and no one knows from where a leopard might pounce. Suran Singh, a resident of Jalalpur Bhood, another leopard-infested locality, shared that leopards are being spotted everywhere — on 10-foot-high water tanks, trees, walls, and even beneath charpoys. Another villager said that schools remain open, so students have no choice but to attend.
The villagers, however, have made their own preparations to face the threat. Many prefer to venture out armed with iron rods, and some have crafted a ‘jugaad’ — an iron pipe that produces loud sounds when gunpowder is placed inside, designed to scare off the leopards. These makeshift measures are the community’s primary defence as they attempt to protect themselves from the lurking danger of the man-eater leopards.
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