In Pune’s Junnar area, a new project has started to track leopards using a special collar with a camera. This is the first time in India that scientists are using this kind of technology to learn about leopards living near people. The Wildlife Institute of India and the Maharashtra Forest Department are working together to understand how leopards behave in places where many humans live.
The main goal of this project is to find out how leopards act and how to protect them better, especially in areas where people and leopards share space. By watching the video and location data from the collar, scientists can see how leopards hunt, move around, and interact with things made by humans. This information will help them make better decisions about how to manage wildlife.
Junnar is chosen for this project because there have been many problems with leopards attacking people. Last year, there were 11 reported cases of leopard attacks in this area. The data from the collars will help find out what causes these conflicts and how to reduce them.
The collar has advanced technology that allows scientists to track leopards in real time and see what they see. This new method gives a better understanding than older tracking methods. The information will help scientists learn how leopards change their behavior when people are around.
If this project works well, it could lead to similar projects in other parts of India where leopards live near humans. Wildlife officials are watching closely to see the results and may expand this idea to other areas.
This teamwork between the Wildlife Institute of India and the Maharashtra Forest Department shows how important it’s to work together for wildlife protection. As they gather more data, it will help everyone understand how to manage the relationship between humans and leopards better.
