Increasing threat of human-wildlife conflict in Kashmir

On 28 August evening, 7-year-old Zaid Bashir along with his elder brother was returning from a local Islamic seminary— nearby to their house in Nesbal a village in Sumbal in north Kashmir’s Bandipora district in Kashmir.

The elder brother of Zaid, who was just a few meters ahead of him, heard a cry, probably the last voice Zaid made before he was attacked and dragged by the Leopard leaving behind the traces of only one of his slippers at the incident spot. 

Following a massive rescue, Zaid’s mauled body was recovered the next day in the morning near a hillock leaving his family shattered in shock and pain, while the entire hamlet was horrified after the incident, fearing further attacks by the “wild animal” roaming in the area.

The people in the area told Ground Report that the incident of the presence of wild animals in the area is not an isolated one, saying that spotting of the wild animals in the area has been frequent and that they have frequently informed the concerned authorities about it.

“This is the first death incident. The entire area is horrified, but the presence of leopards has been frequent in the area and we many times informed the concerned authorities about the same, but there has been no action”, the villagers said.

Rather Danish, a social activist in the area told Ground Report that they have repeatedly informed the wildlife authorities about the presence of leopards in the area, and have been demanding the fencing with concertina wire on the boundary walls of their village.

At least, 248 people have been killed, and 2,983 injured, by wild animals since 2006 in Kashmir. In the Year 2022/23 at least 13 people were killed and more than 118 injured.

Extent Of Human Casualties

A research study was carried out to provide research-based facts to the J&K Forest/Wildlife Protection department in making policies regarding the conservation and management of wildlife species and their habitat to assess and estimate the extent of Human casualties by wild animals in Kashmir.

The study revealed that

• The Human-Wildlife Conflict study data was collected from April 2016 to May 2018 and the conflict was reported from all the 10 Districts of the valley.
• A total of 1000 people from the Kashmir valley and about 100 people from each district were interviewed. During the study about 17 human deaths and about 243 cases of human injuries were reported. 
• 6 Black Bears were killed at different places and 8 Leopards also lost their lives.
• A large number of sightings of Leopard and Black Bear were recorded from different districts namely Anantnag, Baramulla, Bandipora, Budgam, Kupwara, Kulgam, Pulwama and Shopian.
• The highest number of sightings was reported from Shopian district (39%), followed by Kupwara (32%) and Anantnag (24%) districts. 

Development cutting on Wildlife corridors 

According to the study Wildlife corridors that allow seasonal movement of wild animals are also being cut off by roads, railway tracks, and border fencing. 

The study states that common reasons for such conflicts are habitat destruction, unavailability of food and lack of shelter in natural habitats. 

Prey On Young Children, A Concern

According to a statement from the Department of Wildlife Protection Kashmir, human-wildlife attacks have increased in recent years.

As Himalayan black bears and leopards prey more frequently on young children, the struggle between humans and wild animals in Kashmir has grown to be horrifying and gory. The attacks are raising fresh red flags in the region.

As per the above-cited study, J&K is witnessing human population growth which has led to encroachment of wildlife habitats. As per details from the Census 2011, Jammu and Kashmir has a population of 1.25 Crores, an increase from the figure of 1.01 Crore in the 2001 census i.e., decadal population growth of 23.64 per cent. 

Sensitisation At A Glance

Wildlife warden Wetlands, Ifshan Dewan acknowledged to Ground Report the increase in man-animal conflict incidents in her division but called for rigorous awareness programs on the brewing issue.

She said that in 2022 two death incidents were reported in her division, saying that in one of the death cases, a human population was close to a dense forest nursery.

“An awareness campaign was already held in the area and people living in the hamlet were sensitized about dos and don’ts for taking safety measures”, she said.

Wild Animals In Human Dominated Landscape 

Notably, forests cover around 20% of Kashmir's geographical area, with protected areas of 15,900 square kilometres (6,100 square miles), comprising five national parks, 14 wildlife sanctuaries, and 35 conservation reserves.

The wild animals have even been spotted recently in busy markets of the region's main city, Srinagar, and its outskirts, after which wildlife officials established cages and traps to catch the roaming wild animals.

Regional wildlife warden Kashmir, Rashid Naqash however says that the data available with their department indicate that during the last decade, there has been a decline in the cases of human deaths and injuries, but says the appearance of wild animals in the human-dominated landscape has shown an increase to black bears and leopards.

Attributing drastic landscape changes and changes in the natural behaviour of these animals as the primary reason, Naqash said that the easy availability of unnatural food in the landscapes which used to function as natural ecosystems for them only three to four decades before is now turning to be the zones of high interactions and the interface between humans and these animals.

“Long-term landscape reversal, though a solution, however, can't be reversed in the present context, we therefore in the department at present rely on short-term measures like improvement of degraded habitats and awareness generations to prevent such incidents”, he says.

Man- Animal Conflict, Wild Animal Mortalities

Amid a rise in Man-Animal conflict cases in Kashmir, it is not just humans but mortalities and injuries too are reported among wild animals as the year 2023-24 has so far recorded 7 leopard/ cub deaths.

In 2020, a mob of people in south Kashmir’s Khud Hanjipora village in Kulgam district killed a leopard, after it had attacked some children in the area, after which authorities registered a poaching case.

According to the government data, during the last four years either killed or due to natural death, retaliatory or accidental deaths, at least 50 leopards/ cubs have died.

The official data also reveals that the last four years have also seen the death of at least 52 black bears/cubs and the death of 4 brown bears/cubs.

Mitigating Measures Emphasise Awareness 

To tackle the Human-Wildlife conflicts, a research study has called for certain measures which include habitat restoration practices, declaration of new protected areas, organizing of awareness programs, and employment of the locals in forest/wildlife departments and projects.

The study has also asked that people must avoid disturbing or irritating wild animals, advanced infrastructure and training, and avoid horticulture plantations near forests and protected areas.

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