By Sanjay Gubbi When a leopard strays, if the crowd is dispersed, the animal escapes and causes no harm to anyone. Newspapers yesterday were filled with the story of a leopard killed by police and mob at Mysore. In terms of column space it overtook the fall of major financial institutions in the US. Coincidentally, there were two such incidents in Ramanagar and Udupi the same day. Was it the best way to handle the situation? Could we have reduced injury to people and rescued the animal? Three large-bodied species constantly come into conflict with humans: elephants, bears and leopards. Though human-elephant conflict is restricted to areas adjoining large forested landscapes (except for a few incidences where they have been straying to places like Tumkur, Arasikere that have no forests which can support elephants) the issue of human-leopard conflict is more frequent and widespread. These spotted cats have wide-ranging diet and can survive in diverse habitats. However, this adaptability brings it in regular conflict with humans. In many areas their diet mostly consists of domesticated animals. In Ahmednagar and Junnar, Maharashtra, they are known to survive in sugarcane fields! The common trend when these cats stray into human habitations is serious injuries to people, and the leopards are killed. The chief hindrance to effectively handle such circumstances is not the animal, but the excited, unruly crowd. Being a part of several such situations I have learnt simple guidelines that should help mitigate the problem in a better way. The police need to control curious onlookers (including police personnel and media), or else it leads to grave injuries to both humans and the animal. It could be reminded that a few years ago a man was killed by police bullet trying to shoot the leopard near BEL colony in Bangalore. Close proximity of hundreds of people stresses leopards and they attempt to flee. During the skirmish people are injured, leading to public fury, and the animal is clubbed, hacked by the crowd or shot by policemen. In most areas, forest department staff are not trained to handle wildlife. Obviously they wait for a trained team to arrive. Meanwhile, the animal is agitated by the crowd, worsening the situation. If the crowd is dispersed, the animal escapes and causes no harm to anyone. When the animal comes out into the open, people and police run behind it again