Guidelines say animals should be released in the vicinity of capture The national guidelines for human-leopard conflict management have advised against relocating the captured animals, a practice widely followed in Kerala. If an animal has to be released, it should be done in the immediate vicinity of capture. Leopards are highly adaptable animals which exhibit amazing homing instincts. The space vacated by a captured leopard will soon be occupied by another big cat, say the guidelines prepared by the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests. A few instances of human-leopard conflicts have been reported from the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border in the Sholayar forest range of Kerala and Valparai of Tamil Nadu. The animals had attacked a few persons and killed two children in the sector. A study carried out by the Wildlife Biology Division of the Kerala Forest Research Institute, Thrissur, had listed 42 cases of leopards attacking cattle in the Chalakudy forest division between 2003 and 2008. The relocation of captured animals often leads to the transfer of conflict to another unaffected site. A relocated leopard trying to navigate to its home territory through a dense human landscape may lead to more conflicts. The arbitrary removal of leopards can lead to increased conflict, say the guidelines. The decision to capture an animal should be the last option and human intervention should be restricted to avoid conflict. No animal captured after a deliberate attack on a human should be released into the wild. The animals should be micro-chipped, ear-tagged or collared using colour-coded collars before release and monitored after the release, it is recommended. E.A. Jayson, scientist of the Division of Wildlife Biology of the Peechi institute, who studied the conflict in the Kerala region, says the proposal in the guidelines to allow the leopard to feed on the animal it kills will address the feed needs of the animals. However, such a practice is never followed in Kerala. The denial of feed through the removal of the prey will lead to the leopard making a kill the next day. Serial killings can take place in some cases. P.A. Nameer, Head of the Centre for Wildlife Studies of the College of Forestry, Thrissur, says leopards captured in Kerala are mostly released in the Wayanad forests. The relocation will succeed only in shifting the conflict locations. Sufficient animal rehabilitation centres should be set up for keeping aged and injured animals which cannot be released into the wild. A holistic approach rather than an anthropogenic one was needed in dealing with the issue, Dr. Nameer says. Bullets for man-eaters For man-eating leopards, the Ministry has suggested