Twenty First Century Leopards- a context for Conservation
Rukshan Jayewardene, Past President, Wildlife and Nature Protection Society
The quintessential big cat
It is important to keep in mind that leopards have occupied this island for tens of thousands of years, perhaps hundreds of thousands of years. The important thing to remember is they predate the arrival of human hunter gatherer bands in the island and have out competed and out survived the tiger and the lion. (pre historic evidence exists for the presence of both these larger cats).
Although leopards didn’t evolve here, or perhaps not even on the Asian mainland, they did arrive here a highly adapted, and resilient carnivore – the quintessential big cat. As the tiger and lion were pushed to the edge of extinction and beyond, the leopard was to emerge as the apex predator in a bio-diverse, from a leopard’s perspective, prey dense island. The leopard is distributed (from prehistoric times) throughout the length and breadth of this island, from its long coastline to its loftiest peaks and plateaus. It is a success story of an island leopard, surviving, even thriving in all habitats throughout the country, although, today their distribution is patchy rather than contiguous as in the past.
From potential conflict to easy coexistence.
In this first quarter of the 21st century, the leopard faces a multitude of threats from humans, that number almost 22 million strong, as I write. This growing population is land ‘hungry’ and new settlements destroy leopard habitats at a rate and deplete the leopard’s prey on a daily basis, increasingly bringing wild leopards and humans into uncomfortably close proximity.
This sometimes results in tragic consequences mainly to leopards. (Human fatalities are extremely rare while each passing year racks up several leopard fatalities.) I will refrain from going into details regarding the many methods by which leopards lose their lives at the hand of their human neighbours. It is sufficient to say we humans need to take a giant step backwards from leopards, in the many protected areas in the country, as well as in unprotected wilderness and farm lands. In other words, the destruction of wild animals across the country has to reduce especially the illegal killing (poaching) of herbivores for the pot or commercial gain, as leopards depend on these prey species for their very survival.
When we deplete their prey base, they help themselves to our livestock, which is the beginning of conflict. These interactions then have predictable results, following much hysteria, fear and agitation especially in the tea growing districts of Sri Lanka. If interactions between humans and leopards can be predicted and avoided they don’t need to be escalated to a conflict situation. No casualties means no conflict is the way I see it. The unfamiliarity with large predators that have lived unseen, side by side with people for millennia only becomes a “problem” when the predator arrives at your doorstep and takes your dog or kills your cow. An efficient and skilled hunter and effective scavenger like the leopard needs only more breathing space and non interference on our part to thrive.
A case for the long term conservation of the Sri Lankan leopard.
I am making a case for this extraordinary mammal with rare beauty and charisma, that has a value beyond what we realize today, despite an unregulated leopard tourism industry
that has mushroomed in the last 20 years. It can be a sustainable industry that is a win-win for both people and leopards, but not at the current rate of unregulated growth that exerts enormous pressures on important leopard sub populations, within some protected areas. Effective leopard conservation also requires a great deal more education and awareness about leopards and their ways, especially in tea growing areas and in the dry zone hinterland of villages in wildlife rich areas.
Coexistence; in fact mutually beneficial coexistence is possible everywhere, but each area needs area specific assessments and solutions. If problems have already arisen, they need addressing immediately(nipping in the bud) and pre-emption is necessary if they haven’t. Media education about leopards and the correct reporting of leopard related news, is vital for myth busting and minimizing the sensationalism and disinformation that results in creating unwarranted fears among the public.
WNPS has an ongoing series of workshops for journalists, to address this specific issue. It is also important that reporting on nature should be done by those who have an interest in nature, in the first place, as that is the greatest motivator to becoming knowledgeable on the subject quickly and accurately. Ideally I would say that a pre-requisite for Nature/ environmental journalism should be a childhood interest in wildlife and wilderness, not just dogs cats, pet rabbits and other cute what have you.
Environmental Impact Assessments and leopards.
On a larger scale, all development activity has to factor in the areas earmarked for development being suitable. All Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) should be able to determine the presence or absence of leopards in a given project area (not based on anecdotes and sightings) and recommend site specific mitigatory measures. If indeed leopard habitat will inevitably be lost due to that specific project, awarding alternate lands will have to be investigated by the GOSL. Unlike with elephants, the presence or absence of leopards is not immediately obvious to a casual or untrained observer. Outside of protected areas, leopard activity tends to be entirely nocturnal and secretive hence, those skilled at picking up the ‘spoor’ of leopards should be deployed in the field by the EIA team.
No margin for error.
On a global scale, we need to collaborate with other countries and other scientists studying leopards throughout the vast range of the species. Although our leopard (Panthera pardus kotiya) is a sub species, leopard sub species across their range have far more in common with each other than with any other cat species large or small. We need to adopt best practices in conservation, as well as be aware of how climate change is affecting wilderness and wildlife, and plan mitigatory measures and strategies. Our own continued existence on this island depends on how much strategic forest cover and related biodiversity we are able to conserve. On an island of our size (despite the subcontinental illusion) the margin for error is limited and the responsibility for conservation of this species is entirely ours.
This article first appeared in The Island on the 28th of July 2024.