Sarada Chaturvedula

February 25, 2014

Study on the Leopard Human Conflict in Andhra Pradesh and implementing mitigation measures by spreading awareness

Under the guidance of Vidya Athreya

Table of Contents

I. Introduction .................................................................... 2

II. The Project ................................................................... 2

III. Collection of media reports on leopard incidents ........ 3

IV. Interactive session between APFDC and Maharashtra

State Officials ...................................................................... 4

V. Visit to Vajrakarur, Anatapur District and meeting with

DFO, Anantapur .................................................................. 5

VI. Media kit ...................................................................... 5

VII. Translation of Guidelines ............................................. 5

VIII. Preparation of Poster ................................................. 6

IX. Interaction with media personnel ................................ 6

X. List of Annexure ........................................................... 7

I. Introduction

Reckoned to be among the most shy of wild cats, leopards (Panthera Pardus)

are also the most misunderstood. As an animal which has learnt to adapt itself

to the fast changing landscape, it is also the most maligned in the Indian

context, bludgeoned to death, poisoned or even burnt alive, by the so-called

“civilised society.”

Human habitations are expanding at great speed and are destroying the buffer

zone, consuming wild habitat. The animals are hard-pressed from all directions,

forcing them to come into conflict with humans. This is mainly responsible for

frequent human-leopard conflict in any part of India and this is not new to

Andhra Pradesh (AP) too.

A spate of leopard sightings reported in recent months in Anantapur, Tirupati

and Warangal has triggered alarm bells, adding prominence to the list of man-

animal conflicts.

II. The Project

The project in AP officially began around middle of December 2013. The plan of

action described by Ms. Vidya Athreya was as follows

1. 3 years of all leopard media incidents (important dailies - 2 english and

3 telugu) to be obtained and the telugu ones to be translated and some

amount of analysis of how the reportage has been to be obtained for

sharing with media during the workshop.

2. State manual, posters and brochures to be translated in telugu,

approved by Chief Wildlife Warden (CWW), Andhra Pradesh Forest

Department Corporation (APFDC) and then designed and e-copy made.

3. To obtain names of all journalists who are covering these issues either

from the new paper cuttings or from the offices itself.

4. To follow up with the media outlets so that the journalists come for the

media workshop. To also target TV media if there are few stringers in

the smaller towns.

5. To get the media kits ready and venue etc. ready with the Forest

Department before the event.

III. Collection of media reports on leopard incidents

The project work kicked off by collecting newspaper and tv coverage clippings

from 3 English newspapers, 3 Telugu newspapers and news clippings from 3

Telugu news channels for the past 3 years i.e. from 2010 to 2013.

Name of the English

Newspaper

Name of the Telugu

Newspaper

Name of the Telugu

News Channel1

The Hindu Eenadu TV 9

The Times of India Andhra Jyothi TV 5

Deccan Chronicle Sakshi N Tv

Eenadu, Andhra Jyothi & Sakshi are the main vernacular newspapers in AP with

maximum reach, even in to the remote villages.

About 50 news reports have been collected from 6 newspapers (Annexure I)

and 14 video clippings have been collected from 3 news channels (Annexure

II)

Also, after analysis of various news clippings, the list of affected districts had

been identified

1. Anantapur

2. Chittoor

3. Warangal

4. Karimnagar

5. Nizamabad

6. Visakhapatnam

A request was made to the CWW to permit conducting media workshops in the

above listed district headquarters. CWW had recommended conducting the

workshop primarily at Anantapur and next in Hyderabad. The CWW had also

promised extending department’s help in terms of providing infrastructure for

conducting such a workshop.

1 All the news clippings are about distinct incidents over 3 years

IV. Interactive session between APFDC and Maharashtra State

Officials

On January 7, 2014, an interactive session between the District Forest Officers

(DFOs) of all the districts and the Maharashtra State Forest Department

officials – Mr. Sunil Limaye and Mr. G. Sai Prakash, which was chaired by the

highest rung of management of Andhra Pradesh Forest Development

Corporation (APFDC).

During these interactions, Maharashtra State Forest Department officials had

explained their experiences in tackling the rampant leopard problem by

enforcing various measures like educating people about leopards, timely

dispensation of compensation for cattle kills, organizing teams for emergency

rescue & having various equipment ready at hand at all times etc.

They had also shared their experiences in tackling with various sections of the

society and the stakeholders of the Leopard Human Conflict in Nashik Circle,

Maharashtra and Sanjay Gandhi National Park, Mumbai.

V. Visit to Vajrakarur, Anatapur District and meeting with DFO,

Anantapur

On January 8, 2014, a trip to Gundlapalem village, Vajrakarur mandal,

Anantapur district was undertaken with the permission of Chief Wildlife

Warden. On May 29, 2013, a leopard was killed by police department under

pressure from the local public. The leopard had reportedly attacked 10 people

before it was killed. A visit to the incident site was undertaken accompanied by

Beat Officer. It was widely reported by the media that the forest department

personnel had no proper equipment to handle the animal.

The DFO, Anantapur, during his presentation to various NGOs working in

Anantapur, had also explained various animal conflict incidents that have

taken place in his jurisdiction, the measures undertaken and the compensation

paid.

VI. Media kit

It was decided that the media kit, to be distributed to the participants of the

workshop, will contain the translated versions of

1. Leopard Human Conflict Management Guidelines by MoEF and

Maharashtra State (Annexure III)

2. Brochure/ Poster (Annexure IV)

VII. Translation of Guidelines

As a part of the media kit, guidelines by MoEF & Maharashtra State were to be

translated in to Telugu for distribution to various grassroot level officers.

The two documents had been translated (outsourced), proof read, formatted

and are ready to be printed. The documents have been submitted, as 2 hard

copies of each document, to CWW for ratification and the changes to be made

in/ suggestions on the documents are expected to be given soon.

VIII. Preparation of Poster

Poster used for campaigning in Maharashtra had been translated to Telugu.

The poster contains various measures to be taken for preventing a leopard

attack, especially wrt to cattle, children.

The translated version was sent to CWW for approval. The CWW has sent the

same to various district level officers for printing and putting them up at

appropriate places.

IX. Interaction with media personnel

The main aim of the whole project was to bring awareness in all stakeholders

of the conflict situation. The stakeholders included Officials and personnel of

the Forest Department, Police (Law & Order) Department, Fire Department,

Public Administration Department local public, Veterinarians and last but never

the least the media, both print and visual.

The media has always been the focal point in spreading awareness and bears a

huge impact across all sections of the society. As a part of the project’s core

activities, contacting media personnel representing various newspapers and TV

channels had been initiated.

Mr. Saleem, reporter, Andhra Jyothy had come forward to give the campaign a

coverage in AP. The article was published on February 6, 2014 (Annexure V).

The list of newspapers & TV channels targeted is as follows:

I English Print II Telugu Print III Telugu Visual

1 The Hindu 1 Eenadu 1 E Tv

2 Times of India 2 Sakshi 2 ABN Andhra Jyothy

3 Deccan Chronicle 3 Andhra Jyothy 3 TV 9

4 Indian Express 4 Andhra Prabha 4 N Tv

5 Hans India 5 Vaartha 5 Sakshi News

6 Metro India 6 Studio N

7 hmtv

8 TV 5

9 T news

This list has been made based on the popularity and its reach in to the public.

The list of newspapers & TV channels already contacted is as follows:

I English Print II Telugu Print III Telugu Visual

1 The Hindu 1 Eenadu 1 E Tv

2 Times of India 2 Sakshi 2 ABN Andhra Jyothy

3 Deccan Chronicle 3 Andhra Jyothy 3 TV 9

4 N Tv

5 Sakshi News

Other than the above, Press Bureaus – PTI & UNI have been contacted. PTI &

UNI have agreed to send their personnel when the workshop takes place.

The contacts inside these entities may/ may not be the actual ones attending

the workshop. Hence it has been endeavored to establish a contact with the

Editor/ Bureau–in–charge of each of these entities for attending the workshop.

Due to unwarranted political situation in Andhra Pradesh and upcoming

general and state elections, Editors in charge have been busy. This matter may

delay the commencement of the workshop by 2 months.

A formal mail on the initiative and inviting them to the workshop is yet to be

sent to the above list of newspapers & TV channels as and when the date for

the same is fixed.

X. List of Annexure

1. Annexure I: List of clippings from 3 English & 3 Telugu newspapers

2. Annexure II: List of clippings from 3 Telugu news channels

3. Annexure III: Telugu version of the following

a. Guidelines for Human-Leopard Conflict Management by MoEF

b. Human - Leopard Conflict Management Guidelines by

Maharashtra State Forest Department

4. Annexure IV: Telugu version of the Poster

5. Annexure V: News feature on Leopard Human Conflict Management

published in Andhra Jyothy on February 6, 2014

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