Incidents of leopards falling in wells have reduced

Mumbai: A few years ago, leopards falling in wells in the Junnar region of Pune district Maharashtra was common. However, with the dual approach of covering open wells and conducting awareness sessions on a mass scale, the incidences of leopards falling inside open wells have dropped drastically.

The success story of Wildlife SOS, a conservation non-profit charitable organization and Maharashtra Forest Department (MFD) could be replicated elsewhere in India.

There are thousands of wells across the landscape shared by leopards, nilgai antelope, striped hyenas, sloth bears and humans, but the abandoned and unprotected open wells with no side wall protection pose a very real and serious danger to human and animal lives. Every village has 30 to 50 wells, some of which can be as deep as 80 to 100 feet and can be hazardous to any living creature who accidentally falls inside resulting in fatal injuries or death by drowning.

.Modern technology to be used to save elephants in Asia. Following the success, Wildlife SOS, in collaboration with the Maharashtra forest department, and under the guidance of the Junnar Forest Division, covered five new wells in Junnar’s Hivare Narayangaon, Warulwadi, Nimgaon Sawa, Pimpari Pendhar and Ane.

Working on its Open Wells Conservation Project, Wildlife SOS recently covered five open wells in Maharashtra’s Junnar, to prevent leopards and other wild animals from falling into these wells and fatally injuring themselves. As part of the project, the team conducted a field study, speaking with well owners to identify locations where falls frequently occur.

The observations revealed that leopards fall into wells while hunting. Most of the leopards were found to have fallen while chasing domestic animals such as dogs, cats, goats and cows. In these areas, domestic animals are left outside following which leopards come near the houses for hunting during the evening time. In the process of chasing prey, amidst the chaos, the leopard ends up falling into the well.

Mahendra Dhore, Manager, Manikdoh Leopard Rescue Centre, Wildlife SOS said: “Over the past two years, we have conducted awareness campaigns in high-risk areas, educating local people, including school children. In various schools, we are educating students about wild animals through outreach programs and advising the residents to not let their pets roam outside at night but to keep them in enclosed spaces.”

This has had a significant positive impact, as the number of leopard incidents falling into wells has drastically decreased over the past year. In the Junnar Forest Division, there have been fewer such incidents in the past year. As part of the awareness campaigns, the combined teams of Wildlife SOS and the forest department are advising the local people to keep their pets indoors so that leopards do not approach human settlements.

Smita Rajhans, Assistant Conservator of Forests, Junnar Forest Division said: “We are happy to assist Wildlife SOS in this crucial conservation project. It is a solution-oriented approach which has seen significant impact in saving the lives of wild animals. The most important information gathered while working on this project is that if farmers keep their domestic animals enclosed at night, a huge number of incidents of leopards falling into wells can be reduced.”

Kartick Satyanarayan, Co-founder and CEO, Wildlife SOS said: “We are committed to making every effort to ensure that leopards and other wild animals do not fall into wells, and we will continue to work towards this goal with utmost dedication.”

Geeta Seshamani, Co-founder and Secretary, Wildlife SOS said, “Science-driven conservation, combined with on-ground action, is key to long-term wildlife protection. We are encouraged by the success of the Open Wells Conservation Project.”

Incidents of leopards falling in wells have reduced

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