Three leopard fatalities are reported in one month in the AP district of Anantapur

In a worrying incident, three dead leopards were discovered in the Anantapur district within a month of each other. The fatalities, according to authorities from the forest department, were caused by the leopards wandering out of their native habitat in search of food and water, a scenario made worse by the extreme drought that the area was experiencing.

In the Melavai revenue region of Sri Sathyasai district, in the highlands of Madakasira mandal, one dead leopard was discovered on August 17 and 18, 2023, according to sources. A leopard was subsequently discovered dead in the Badukallu forest region of Kalyanadurgam constituency on March 18, this year. Another incidence happened on March 19, when a leopard in Kooderu mandal’s Nagireddypalli revenue village climbed atop a transformer on a farmer’s agricultural property and electrocuted itself.

Additionally, a female leopard was discovered dead on April 3 in the Kokkirai hill area of Peddavaduguru mandal, close to Bheemunipalli.

Kuruba Mahesh, a resident of Kurlapalli village in Kalyanadurgam mandal, voiced worry and dread about the rising activity of wild bears and leopards in the nearby villages. He said they had moved their cattle to the villages of relatives in Karnataka because of the frequent assaults by leopards on them. He went on, “The villagers, especially women and children, are afraid to go into the fields by themselves because they fear coming across wild animals.”

Following the recent deaths of three leopards in less than a month, Vineetha Kumar, the district forest officer for Anantapur, has announced efforts to address the problem of water shortage in forest regions. According to Kumar, there are more leopards in the area and across Andhra Pradesh. However, the issue of water scarcity in wooded regions has become worse due to the drought.

In order to address this problem, drinking water facilities are being installed in the forest regions of Kalyanadurgam and Rayadurgam. Water is supplied by tankers and stored in the woods. By preventing animals from migrating from forested regions to plains in search of water, this project seeks to lower the likelihood of conflict and mortality.

In order to avoid conflicts between humans and animals, Penukonda Sub Divisional Forest Officer Anand emphasized the need of keeping animals within forest regions. But animals are moving out of the woods and onto the plains because of the current drought, he said.