Leopard Depredation Problem in Chamoli Garhwal

Chamoli District of Garhwal is one of the three districts of Uttar Pradesh, bordering China (Tibet). Spread over an area of 9,125 km² the District has wide altitudinal range from less than 600m to 7817m(NandaDevipeak).Three Protected Areasviz.NandaDeviNational Park (630km²),Valley of Flowers N.P. (87.5 km²) and Kedarnath Musk Deer Sanctuary (957 km²) are located in the District. The common Leopard (Panthera pardus) inhabits all kinds of habitats (wild and altered) in the District upto an altitude of 3,500m. The Leopard's habits bring it into far more frequent contact with man than any other predator. The District has a history of problem Leopards (cattle lifters, man eaters) with the Man-eating Leopard of Rudraprayag which was active in 1920s being the most legendary. Even today cattle lifting is frequent and man-eating occasional. In the last three years) 16 people have been killed by Leopards and 17 have been seriously injured. 500 cattle have been killed in the last three years in or around (upto 5 km from boundary) Nanda Devi National Park and Kedarnath Musk Deer Sanctuary by Leopards. The possible reasons behind the depredation on human life and property by Leopards in Chamoli District have been discussed. An attempt to identify areas more prone to such incidents has been made. The possible solutions to mitigate the problem have been discussed at length.