Warli Tribes Conserving Leopards

• Context (DTE): The Warli tribes living near Sanjay Gandhi National Park in Maharashtra worship leopards.

Sanjay Gandhi National Park

• It is a protected area in Mumbai, Maharashtra.
• The Kanheri caves (important Buddhist learning centers) is located centrally in the park.
• It also houses the famous Jain temple called Trimurti. It has three huge idols of Lord Adinath and his two sons, Lord Bahubali and Lord Bharata.
• The karvi (or karvy) shrub, that blooms only once in eight years is seen in abundance throughout the park.
• Dahisar River, originates in the Tulsi Lake in Sanjay Gandhi National Park

Warli Tribes

• They are spread across Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, Goa and the Union Territories of Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu.
• They speak an unwritten Varli language which belongs to the southern zone of the Indo-Aryan languages.

Warli Art

• It is the tribal paintings of Maharashtra that are done traditionally in the homes of the Warlis.
• These paintings do not depict mythological characters or images of deities but depict daily and social events of the Warli tribe.
• They are like pre-historic cave paintings in execution and usually depict scenes of human figures engaged in activities like hunting, dancing, sowing and harvesting.
• These paintings are mainly dominated by basic geometric shapes like circles, triangles, and squares.
• Women are mainly engaged in the creation of these paintings.

Indian Leopard

• These are the smallest of the big cats known for their ability to adapt to a variety of habitats.
• They are elusive and nocturnal animals.
• Population: 12,000-14,000 individuals.
• Conservation status: IUCN Red List: Vulnerable (VU) | WPA: Schedule I.
• Habitat: Tropical rainforests, dry deciduous forests, temperate forests, and northern coniferous forests. They do not occur in the mangrove forests of the Sundarbans and deserts.
• Lifestyle: Solitary animals.
• Pregnancy duration: 90 to 105 days.
• Threats: Poaching, loss of habitat and fragmentation, human-animal conflict.

Ways to reduce human-leopard conflict

• Habitat Management: Identify and protect key leopard habitats to minimize human encroachment. Establish buffer zones between leopard territories and human settlements.
• Community Awareness: Conduct educational programs to inform local communities about leopard behavior and ecology.
• Livestock Management: Implement secure livestock housing and fencing to prevent leopard attacks on domestic animals.
• Early Warning Systems: Develop and implement early warning systems to alert communities about leopard presence in the vicinity. Use technology like motion-sensor cameras and GPS tracking to monitor leopard movements.
• Conflict Resolution Teams: Establish rapid response teams to address leopard-human conflicts promptly. Train local personnel in non-lethal methods of managing leopard encounters.
• Human Behavior Modification: Encourage responsible behavior in the presence of leopards, such as avoiding confrontations and not provoking the animals.
• Research and Monitoring: Conduct studies to better understand leopard behavior and movement patterns.
• International Collaboration: Collaborate with neighboring regions and share best practices and research findings to develop comprehensive strategies for reducing leopard-human conflict.