Rudraprayag (Uttarakhand) [India], August 25 : Human-wildlife conflict is increasing in rural areas of Rudraprayag as forest areas have come closer to villages and wild animals are moving towards human settlements in search of food, Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Vineet Kumar Mishra said.
The DFO said that the decline in farming activities has contributed to wild animals such as wild boars, leopards and bears moving closer to villages in search of easily available food.
"Human-wildlife conflict has been arising. As we can see in our mountains, forest areas have come very close to the villages. Since people have stopped farming, wild animals such as boars, leopards, and bears have also moved closer to our villages in search of easy food," the DFO Mishra said.
He said the Forest Department is conducting regular patrols and responding immediately to reports of leopard sightings, attacks on livestock and bear sightings.
"This has created a human-wildlife conflict situation. Our forest department is fully prepared to address this. We are conducting regular patrols. When we receive reports of leopard sightings, leopard attacks on livestock, or bear sightings, our team reaches the spot immediately. They talk to the people, understand the situation, and then use instrumentation such as fox lights and night-vision devices," he said.
The department is also installing camera traps to monitor and document the movement of leopards and identify individual animals, while also assessing the nature and frequency of incidents in specific areas.
DFO Mishra said, "We also set up camera traps to record and document which leopard it is, the nature of the incident, and the frequency of occurrence in that area."
As a preventive measure, the Forest Department is conducting awareness campaigns in coordination with the district administration and legal teams.
Forest teams from different ranges and beats are visiting nearby villages and interacting with residents, village heads, children and the elderly to spread awareness about safety measures and help minimise human-wildlife conflict.
He said, "We are running awareness campaigns in collaboration with the district administration and legal teams. Our forest department teams in the ranges and beats are visiting nearby villages to meet residents, village heads (pradhans), children, and the elderly. They are actively generating awareness to minimise human-wildlife conflict and provide safety to the people."