Chandrapur | March 14, 2016: Man-animal conflict, so far restricted to remote places, has now reached the doorsteps of Chandrapur city. Half a dozen leopards and equal number of sloth bears are prowling the human settlements at the outskirts of city. Saturday's leopard attack on two women in periphery of city can be seen as a omen of potentially explosive situation that could arise in summer.
Thick shrubby forest in Chadrapur Super Thermal Power Station (CSTPS), Chandrapur Ferro-Alloy Plant (erstwhile Maharashtra Elektrosmelt Ltd) of SAIL, WCL mines around the city offer ideal habitat for these wild animals. Thorny shrubs (prosopis) stretch over thousands of hectares in these three industrial installations. Prey like wild boars, pigs, and stray dogs attract leopards while sloth bears are lured by the thrown away food and fruit trees. Over two dozen people have been injured and three people killed within city limits during last few years in predator attacks. Yet, the three industries have ignored the directives of the forest department to clear prosopis plantation.
Sources said there were at least four sloth bears and one or more number of leopards inside the premises of CSTPS. WCL Durgapur Shaktinagar colony and surrounding overburden hillock is home at least two bears and movement of leopards too is common here. Chandrapur Ferro-Alloy plant with Junona and Lohara forests on three sides is often frequented by leopards, though their number is not known. WCL Mana mines overburden with thick shrubby plantation is well known leopard habitat. Three leopards living here had killed two persons and injured more than 15 others a couple of years back before being captured. A new leopard has taken their place. It had injured two women on Saturday.
CSTPS, Ferro-Alloy and WCL mines and their residential colonies interrupt the wildlife corridors. Villages including Ambhora and Khairgaon and city localities like Rashtrawadi Nagar and Tulsinagar are often intruded by leopards and bears from CSTPS. Leopards from WCL Shaktinagar colony make forays into Durgapur village, along with Nehru Nagar and forest academy's residential colony in Chandrapur. Mana leopards intrude into Lalpeth and Bhivapur localities, while Indira Nagar and Sanjay Nagar areas are threatened by predators from Ferro-Alloy plant.
Honorary wildlife warden Bandu Dhotre explained these shrubby plantations were not responsibility of forest department, still it is blamed for predator intrusion. Leopards and bears have bred here in last five years and their cubs, now grown up, have never known real forest. These animals get their food from human waste but generally avoid residential areas. However, when humans cross their line accidentally, they get attacked, Dhotre explained.
(Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/)