Townspeople in Karnataka’s Haveri district believe anxiety and fear have begun to seep into their inner lives after witnessing a leopard spotted outside Neshwi village in Rattihalli taluk.
The wild animal, seen from outside, wandered into the Jalikere region, near the village, and many villagers, mostly farmers and those near farms, began to panic. The leopard was seen near Jalikere lake, where farmers were hanging out together for daily farming operations, said the villagers.
They could see this creature barreling through the wide expanse of land, disappearing into the trees and other vegetation around them, stunning villagers. Many locals shot videos of the leopard on their phones, after which the videos spread fear well beyond the land around town.
The sighting has increased fears in Neshwi village and neighbouring cities. A lot of villagers fear for their own lives in case of attacks against humans, livestock, and pets, adding to these worries in Neshwi village and the surrounding community.
The children and seniors are amongst some of the most vulnerable among the villagers, the villagers said, and some families have so far retreated before dawn and after dusk. Local farmers will also still hold on to the leopard partly because of the massive water sources and livestock, and the dense vegetation on plots split between agricultural and pastoral plots in the area.
People urged the Forest Department to search for the animal and also seek to capture it safely before something dangerous happened. The area’s forest officials also took the phone call, helping villagers patrol the area and track the movement of the leopard using cameras or cages.
Following word of the sighting, parts of the village were closed to the sighting site, and a few others were hunting for the animal, and officials started issuing guides for locals to follow. A team of Forest Department officers were sent to the area to check the locomotive track of the leopard.
Wildlife experts believe that leopards often arrive at human settlements for food or water and sometimes seek refuge in places in the country where woodlands (or prey) have changed from their natural living conditions to an area where there is less of them. But authorities have told them not to provoke or pursue wild animals in ways that could set them off for an attack, warning that they don’t need to.
The episode was representative of the escalating number of incidents of human-wildlife conflict in different parts of Karnataka. Urbanisation, deforestation and thinning forest cover have led to more sightings of leopards in villages, farmlands and residential areas in recent years.
Rattihalli Police Station officials have also recognised the public’s threat. Residents have been recommended to stay alert, stay away from places where the views do not rest at night and report any sightings they have seen to the Forest Department. But as fear envelops the village, villagers are hopeful forest security officials will be swift in capturing the leopard to make sure human life and livestock are not put at risk.
