After 3 deaths, Army joins search for killer leopard in Udaipur district

JAIPUR/UDAIPUR: After a leopard killed three people within three days in Udaipur district, an Army team joined state forest teams to track down the animal.
As many as 200 personnel, locals and senior officials from the wildlife wing of Rajsamand, Pali, Sirohi and Udaipur districts are involved in the search operation. Drones are being used for the search but the thick foliage that has grown due to monsoon is making the task difficult.
"Efforts to find pugmarks have been challenging due to dense vegetation," a senior official said.
The suspected leopard is an old male, said another official. It has been killing people as it is unable to hunt wild animals in the forest. It reportedly charged at a villager on Saturday as well, the official said.
Chief wildlife warden Pavan Kumar Upadhyay said, "Permission has been issued to capture, not kill, the leopard. Expert wildlife teams have been deployed to carry out the task. The leopard will be sent to a rescue centre."
Leopard population stands at 925 in Raj
DFO Ajay Chitora said, "Cages were placed at three locations where the leopard had attacked. Another cage was set up at a potential spot. Teams were stationed away from the cages for monitoring but the leopard has not been sighted yet."
The state forest department has also sought help from the National Wildlife Board and National Tiger Conservation Authority to minimise man-wildlife conflicts in Rajasthan.
A senior official noted the conflicts have increased due to the rise in leopard population and the department has raised urgent concerns with NWB.
The recent waterhole census conducted by the forest department put the leopard population in the state at 925 this year, compared to 818 in 2022, 775 in 2020, 637 in 2019, 635 in 2018 and 507 in 2017.