Gir wild cats mauled 10 to death in a year

02-04-2012
Gir wild cats mauled 10 to death in a year
Times of India
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/Gir-wild-cats-mauled-10-to-death-in-a-year/articleshow/12497498.cms

Lions and leopards killed at least 10 persons in Junagadh district in the past one year. The state government has revealed that 1,966 attacks on cattle and 60 attacks on humans have been reported in the same period.

In a written reply to a question by MLA Dhirsinh Barad, the government said that in the 60 attacks, 10 people died and 52 were injured in the year ending January 31.

The government has also paid a compensation of Rs 66.63 lakh in case of deaths of cattle and person, while Rs 55.36 lakh were paid for the death of 2,486 cattle, Rs 9.5 lakh in case of death of person and Rs 1.77 lakh for those 52 person who were injured in the attack.

Going by the figures, the maximum attacks on cattle and humans were in Una taluka where 589 cattle and 15 persons were attacked in the last one year.

This was followed closely by Talala where 301 cattle attacks were reported and 11 persons mauled.

A senior officer refusing anonymity said that in victims in the majority cases of attacks on humans were mauled by leopards. He said that the leopards were getting out of the Gir sanctuary and were moving in the open fields. This was leading to increased human-animal conflict.

Lions have not attacked many people. The wild cat has targeted cattle the most. "With their population increasing, lions are moving out of the sanctuary and have made several areas along the coast as their permanent home. This has resulted in the increased number of attacks on the cattle."