Campaign to prevent man-animal conflict to be launched in fringe villages of Rajaji Reserve

An awareness campaign will soon be launched in villages close to the Rajaji Tiger Reservein Uttarakhand advising people not to go into the surrounding forests and risk an assault by the big cat.

The decision in this regard was taken after a recent survey found that 21 out of total 23 victims of leopard attack in Motichur range in the last five years were killed after intruding into the big cat's habitat, reserve director Prasanna Kumar Patro said.

In only two instances out of these, leopards killed humans after lifting them from populated areas, he said.

It brought us to the conclusion that if human intrusion into their habitats was lessened, incidents of leopards or tigers killing humans would be reduced, Patro said.

The campaign will be carried out with a focus on villages located on the fringe of the reserve, he said.

The decision to launch the campaign was taken at a meeting summoned by chief wildlife warden Rajeev Bhartari, Patro said.

As the reserve suffers from shortage of frontline staff, help of World Wide Fund and prominent NGOs could be taken to run the campaign, he said.

People inhabiting villages on the fringe of the reserve often go into nearby forests to either collect firewood or graze livestock.