Jaipur: Picture and video of a leopard with is head stuck in a pitcher in a village in Rajasthan’s Rajsamand district on September last year were an instant hit. But, behind that picture was a distressing truth. The leopard was thirsty and had come to village in search of water. He tried drinking the water from that metal pitcher but unfortunately ended up getting his head stuck in it.
Still, he was lucky not to get killed by villagers despite his head stuck in the pitcher for nearly 10 hours. Otherwise, the moment people spot a wild animal they get panic and hound him to death. At least four panthers and a couple of hyenas have been killed in last three months. Only 10 days ago month a panther was stoned to death then burnt in Jhali ka Guda in Rajsamand. Prior to this, people in Kachbali village in the same district killed a panther then posted selfie.
It is not that only humans have been killing wild animals that too without a purpose. Wild animals too have been constantly entering not just villages but cities; attacking and killing domestic animals and people. There have been at least a dozen incidents in the current month alone.
While the human-animal conflict is not new but water scarcity in the intense summer heat has led to sharp increase in such incidents. Due to the sweltering heat, many small water reservoirs have dried up while others are on the verge of drying up. “Water scarcity is forcing wild animals to stray into villages,” said Babulal Jaju, the in-charge of People for Animals who estimates nearly 125 deaths of panthers due to water and food scarcity in the last one-and-a-half years.
