Askes people to remain vigilant during evening hours

BARAMULLA: Day after when a leopard was tranquilized and catched in north Kashmir’s Baramulla town, the department of wildlife north zone issued an advisory for the general public to save the precious lives from wild beasts mostly from leopards and bears.
Range officer Baramulla Altaf Ahmad Koul said that from past few weeks they are receiving a large number of complaints regarding the presence of leopards in residential areas of Baramulla, during which a leopard was catched by the officials of the department on Monday in Baramulla town.
He said, on Tuesday the department under the guidelines of wildlife warden north Kashmir Mohammad Maqbool Baba, issued an advisory for the general public to save the lives of the wild animals.
He said, the people are requested not to venture in the nearby forests alone, and use proper lighting systems like torch or any other lighting system during night hours when they need to go anywhere. While visiting nearby orchards or fields people should visit in groups and do not chase wild animals they can jump to the person in self defence. Beat the tin or drum when needed to chase the animals and the women from rural areas are requested not to visit nearby forests alone to collect firewood.
The department appealed to the general public to inform the nearby wildlife officials about the presence of leopards in residential areas, the advisory reads.
It is mentioned here that from past several weeks people from several areas of Baramulla complain that wild beasts like leopards and bears are roaming in residential areas not only in rural but in urban areas too and these beasts killed score of domestic animals in the said areas. On Monday a leopard was catched by the wildlife officials after hours of struggle when he took shelter in a residential house of a local in Kantabagh area of Baramulla. The people said that there are three to four leopards in the area and people could not went outside their homes from evening.
Similarly the people in other rural areas including in Tangmarg and Kandi belt of Baramulla also said that leopards and bears are roaming in their areas round the clock and they killed dozens of domestic animals, with the result a fear has been gripped among the local people.
The officials of the department said that as the snowfall covered the hilly areas mostly the forest areas, the wild animals are coming towards the residential areas in search of food, it is better to follow the above instructions of the department and save the precious lives.

Reader correspondent