Rise in leopard attacks in Junnar largely due to public disregard for safety advisories

A worrying surge in the human-leopard conflict in the Junnar region of Pune district has been attributed largely to the public’s disregard for safety advisories issued by forest officials. As per data shared by the Junnar forest department, at least 50 individuals have sustained injuries from leopard attacks in the past five years. While the number of such incidents remained in single digits till 2022, it rose to double digits in 2022 and 2023 before falling again in 2024. This year itself, four injuries have been reported so far.

According to forest officials, nearly 90% of these incidents have resulted from non-compliance with safety guidelines such as venturing alone at dawn or dusk, leaving children unattended near sugarcane fields, and not paying heed to warnings about leopard sightings. Whereas only 10% of these incidents have been unexpected encounters, they said.

The region’s geography and agricultural practices have only exacerbated the situation with the hilly terrain and dense sugarcane plantations providing the perfect cover for leopards and facilitating their movement close to human settlements. According to the Wildlife Institute of India, the Junnar forest division houses at least six to seven leopards per 100 square kilometres.

While the forest department has implemented several measures to mitigate the escalating threat such as installation of AI-equipped cameras and motion sensor-triggered sirens to detect and deter leopards, distribution of spiked neck belts to farm labourers to prevent fatal neck injuries during attacks, deployment of solar-powered electric fences around vulnerable tenements and fields to prevent entry of leopards, and establishment of rapid response teams at various locations with trained personnel for immediate intervention in conflict zones, challenges persist and human cost continues to be high. Nine fatalities were reported in 2024 alone, with six out of them being children. These incidents have forced villagers into making lifestyle changes such as not sending children to school and avoiding outdoor activities during peak leopard activity.

As part of preventive measures, the forest department has implemented awareness drives in leopard-prone areas of Junnar. These drives include both on-ground and digital efforts. As part of these drives, forest officials hold meetings with villagers to inform them about the latest human-leopard conflict situation. The officials instruct villagers not to venture out alone early morning, evening or night; and not to let children alone near sugarcane fields among others. They ask Gram Panchayats to make sufficient arrangements for streetlights etc. However, the response to these guidelines is a mixed bag with some tending to follow them while others neglecting them.

Smita Rajhans, assistant conservator of forests, Junnar forest department, said, “In two recent cases which occurred on May 19 and 20, four people were injured in leopard attacks. In the first case, a 35-year-old man was sleeping near his flock of sheep in an open farm and was injured while trying to safeguard his sheep from a leopard. In another incident, a woman who went to a sugarcane field near her house to answer Nature’s call at 5 am was attacked by a leopard. The woman survived but sustained serious neck injuries. These are not the only incidents where safety advisories have been neglected. Nearly 90% of human-leopard conflict cases involve such negligence. We communicate with people about this but many of them tend to risk their lives by neglecting our advisories. The department is taking all possible efforts to mitigate the conflict situation in Junnar and we appeal to people to follow safety advisories strictly to avoid any such mishaps.”

Sharad Sonwane, member of the Maharashtra legislative assembly, who has been raising this issue for the longest time, said, “The leopard population has been growing significantly in the Junnar area, leading to a rise in such incidents. I have written a letter to the central government recently demanding removal of leopards from the schedule 1 category so that capturing them will be permitted. Moreover, I strongly demand that leopards be sterilised. For the protection of shepherd families who stay in these fields, I demand that the state government provide them with safety guns that create loud noises.” Sonwane said that leopard attacks are now occurring in broad daylight and the situation is getting worse by the day.