Study shows leopards prefer to stay in their home ranges
According to forest department officials, in some cases, cubs were relocated to other areas, but their tags revealed that they had come back to the area, where they were trapped
Pune:
As many as 44 leopard cubs tagged with microchips during the past three years largely remained in their territory, a study by the forest department has revealed. The study contradicts the perception that leopards keep changing their territories, said forest department officials.
The microchipping of these cubs was carried out between 2021 to 2023 in a phased manner, largely when they were reunited with their mothers.
In a recent case during April 2023 in Junnar, the forest department found a leopard who attacked a 12-year-old boy in the area was the same one they had inserted with a microchip two years earlier at the same place. The tagging helped the forest department to monitor its movements. Later the forest department captured the big cat and put the animal in captivity.
The cub was microchipped as part of a programme started in 2015 to find out the behaviour of the animals and whether they are crossing their inhabited areas. The programme was later resumed in 2021 by the forest department. The microchips carry an identification number but do not have a global positioning system (GPS) tracking device on them.
Speaking about the microchip program Amol Satpute, deputy conservator of forest, Junnar Forest Division, said, “This microchip program is implemented to study the movement of leopards in the state. In this study, we have found that the leopards mainly prefer to stay in their home ranges and are found in the same areas. We have identified a case study where a leopard with a microchip inserted two years ago was found in the same area of the Junnar forest range. We are further analysing their behaviour. Also, this inserted chip helps us to identify the leopard in the wild.”
According to forest department officials, in some cases, cubs were relocated to other areas, but their tags revealed that they had come back to the area, where they were trapped.
To study the range and territory of leopard cubs that were found abandoned and later united with their parents, the Wildlife SOS in association with the Maharashtra Forest Department focused on carrying out micro-chipping from January 2021 to May 2023 from various forest ranges such as Junnar, Otur, and Sangamner.
Speaking about the chip insertion and reuniting program Mahendra Dhore, project manager- Maharashtra, Wildlife SOS said, “As leopards are primarily nocturnal animals, they are most active at night. That is why reunions are mostly planned during this time. Our team usually conducts a medical examination to rule out any health issues and following protocol, we carefully implant the cub with a microchip before the release. This method makes it easy to identify leopards in the wild and allows us to study their range and territory.”
The home leopards have always been known to have invaded vast fields of sugarcane in Maharashtra. The harvest season for sugarcane begins at the same time as leopards give birth to cubs – between March and May. Mother leopards find thick and tall sugarcanes that line the wild forest to be a haven for their cubs and leave them there while they go hunting or foraging, said Dhore.
“Due to the recurrent cub sightings within their sugarcane fields, farmers of Maharashtra are now familiar with the rescue drill, immediately alerting the forest department, who further inform the Wildlife SOS team. Reunions are successful because the villagers, farmers, and the forest department perform their roles perfectly,” said Kartick Satyanarayan, Co-founder & CEO, of Wildlife SOS.
