Click to play videoNew Delhi: Smaller in size – and perhaps even in importance - than the other members of the cat family, the leopard is on the brink in India.
Its habitat is fast shrinking and the cat hasn't received the attention it deserves.
In the latest incident, a leopard which strayed into a Mysore suburb was beaten to death. It was chased and beaten by locals as it tried to take shelter in surrounding areas.
Forest officials finally trapped the leopard and took it Mysore zoo but not before it was greviously injured. It died later despite efforts to save it.
Under the Indian Wildlife Protection Act it is illegal to hunt the leopard as it is recognised as an endangered animal.
In May 2008 in Lakhimpur in Uttar Pradesh, a leopard that invaded a village was burnt alive by a frenzied mob.
A month before that -- in April 2008 -- in Nizamabad in Andhra Pradesh, a mob beat a leopard to death when the animal ventured into their village
Then in February 2008, in the Nashik district of Maharashtra, a leopard fell into a well and had to be rescued by the forest department
Finally in July 200, a leopard was trapped in Srinagar. It was tranquilised and taken to nearby a zoo.
Valmik Thapar, one of India's foremost conservationists, spoke with CNN-IBN on the crisis.
How vulnerable is this spotted cat?
Leopard will be the first to go, tigers are still around because we have in India only human-dominated forests and they will continue to kill and leopards will continue to die.
What about mining in forests?
Mining is rampant in the Aravalis legally and illegally cause there's greed. We are changing the shape of the Aravalis.
Aren't mining bans in place in India? The law against killing endangered species is there - mining bans are in place, but why is it the same old story when it comes to saving our animals?
Enforcement is in shambles. If not politics it’s the business connections. We need a new federal mechanism that gives power to the central Government to save land essential for animals and human life.
(For updates you can share with your friends, follow IBNLive on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and Pinterest)
More on IBNLive Right Now
MOST SHARED
PHOTOGALLERY
