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Leopard in Town
Four leopards were captured in the city of Guwahati during the month of December from residential areas. The incident reflects how human habitation is increasing at the cost of forests. Decrease in forest area is forcing the leopards to move to the adjacent city areas in which they are either captured or killed by the mob. Whatever may be the scenario, it is the leopards which are at the receiving end. Out of the 22 leopards currently sheltered in the Assam state zoo, around 20 were captured in the city of Guwahati.
While no official up-to-date data is available, according to an earlier estimation, the total forest cover in the city hills was a meagre 13.60 percent. Given the unabated encroachment, illegal logging and earth-cutting on the hills, the situation is likely to be worse today. Of the 7,023 hectares of hill land, 2,642 hectares fall under reserve forests but a major part of even the reserve forests lie destroyed and degraded due to encroachment and tree-felling.
