Big cat in well: an unconventional threat to leopards in southern India

Abstract

The Vulnerable leopard Panthera pardus is declining as a result of poaching, habitat loss, retaliatory killing and collisions with vehicles. In the southern Indian state of Karnataka there is also an unconventional threat that has received little attention: leopards accidentally falling into unsecured open wells. During 2008–2017 there were 70 incidents of leopards falling into wells, in 10 of 30 districts, with the greatest number recorded in Udupi district (46%). Leopards were released at the site (40%, n = 28), or assisted to escape on their own or were translocated after rescue (41%, n = 29). Eleven per cent (n = 8) of the leopards died as a result of the fall, and 7% (n = 5) were sent to zoos, with serious injuries. The highest number of falls occurred during the pre-monsoon and monsoon seasons in districts with high rainfall, which may curtail visibility. Open wells are an emerging threat to the leopard and other animal species, and require covers and the security of a parapet.

Every hill has its leopard: patterns of space use by leopards (Panthera pardus) in a mixed use landscape in India

“…fusca. We find leopards occupying habitat patches outside PAs, but also suspect that unnatural mortality of leopards outside PAs could be much higher (Gubbi et al, 2014(Gubbi et al, , 2019 than in PAs. It is also likely that the illegal trade in leopard body parts (Raza et al, 2012;Mondol et al, 2015) is thriving with leopards poached and supplied from outside PAs.…”

“…They are also legally hunted in some countries ( CITES, 2019 ). Most threats to leopards can be directly attributed to anthropogenic activities ( Ray, Hunter & Zigouris, 2005 ; Henschel et al, 2011 ; Raza et al, 2012 ; Nowell, 2014 ; Durant et al, 2015 ; Stein et al, 2020 ; Jacobson et al, 2016 ; Gubbi et al, 2014 , 2019 ). Due to the declining trends, the leopard was up-listed from the Near Threatened to the Vulnerable category by International Union for Conservation of Nature (2016) .…”

Quantifying Wire Snares as a Threat to Leopards in Karnataka, India

“…In comparison, there were a total of 23 leopard mortalities (4.6 leopards/year) as a result of vehicular collisions in Karnataka over five years (Gubbi et al, 2014). Gubbi et al (2019Gubbi et al ( , 2020 recorded 29 leopards killed due to retaliatory actions (3.6 leopards/year), and eight leopard deaths as a result of leopards falling into open wells during 10 years (0.8 leopards/year), in the same landscape. Though mortality of $6 leopards/year due to snares in Karnataka may look reasonably small compared to the overall population of 1,783 , combined with other unnatural causes of adult mortality, deaths due to snares could be a serious cause for concern.…”

“…In India, leopards are listed under Schedule-I of the Wildlife Protection Act giving them the highest priority for conservation (WLP 1972). Some of the threats posed to leopards include poaching for body parts, mortality due to vehicular collisions, habitat loss, retaliatory killing, and others (Gubbi et al, 2014(Gubbi et al, , 2019(Gubbi et al, , 2020Jacobson et al, 2016;Raza et al, 2012). Some threats risked by leopards have been quantified at regional scales (Balme et al, 2010;Gubbi et al, 2014Gubbi et al, , 2019Gubbi et al, , 2020Raza et al, 2012), and any additional information would help in the preservation of leopards.…”

Study of tumbled snakes in open wells, a nightmare for snakes in western Maharashtra

“…erally, these open wells are not covered or protected by farmers, while guidelines of central and various state government are placed in system for protecting or covering all open wells and bore wells (Chittora et al, 2020). Wild species falls down in these open wells when they are chased by predator species, when they were fighting with each other or accidentally fall down in these open wells due to low visibility during rainy season (Gubbi et al, 2019).…”