PROJECT LEOPARD BY CINNAMON WILD YALA & JOHN KEELS FOUNDATION CONTENT INTRODUCTION REASONS FOR THE PROJECT GOALS OF THE PROGRAMME STRATEGIES IMPLEMENTED TO ACHIEVE THESE GOALS Does the implementing agency have the resources available to implement these strategies? Suggestions for further improvements & Success of the project DISCUSSION REFERENCES INTRODUCTION Housing one of Sri Lanka’s biggest national parks, Yala is home to a plethora of wild animals that roam freely over the park’s nearly 1000 square kilometer radius .While the park houses a diverse range of wildlife , it is frequently known as the ‘leopard country’ as it has one of the highest densities of leopards in the world. Yet a hidden problem within the community threatened this statistic as cattle farmers living in the outskirts of the park found it difficult to protect their cattle from these predators. For these farmers cattle are their livelihood as many of them depend on the milk of the cows for an income. Leopards straying outside the park boundaries often tend to prey on the young calves in the night causing cows to stop producing milk upon the death of their calves and causing significant damage to their livelihood. REASONS FOR THE PROJECT Leopards living on the periphery of the park visit cattle farms and prey on young calves. The half-eaten carcasses anger farmers and revenge attacks by villagers leave leopards in great danger. The leopard pen project titled ‘Project Leopard’ was initiated in order to mitigate this and achieve a win-win situation. In order to protect their cattle ,farmers retaliate by poisoning the carcasses of the calves as leopards return to their prey as a habit resulting in a stark increase in the death of the Sri Lankan leopards,the Panthera pardus kotiya that was classified as endangered in the Sri Lanka National Red List in 2012.The problem is mainly due to human interference. The role that the Sri Lankan leopard plays, not only as the main predator but also the only substantial predator in the ecosystem, needs badly to be determined for it has the potential to be of immense importance. The leopard may truly be a keystone species whose existence is essential to the present environmental balance. Removing this top cat from the arid zone environment for example, might drastically change the population structure of its present prey species. Whether the leopard really is a keystone species in Sri Lanka and the types of cascading effects that its presence exerts on the lower trophic levels. Here the cattle and leopard populations are at risk.Main stakeholders are villagers and their livestock , leopards, tourists, wildlife officials etc.are the main key stakeholders of this issue. Forest patches between estates have been cut by the villagers for firewood, thereby depriving the leopards of their habitat, it is the fault of the people that has led to a series of issues. There is encroachment in the forests; there is illegal deforestation and forest fires. As a result, the animals are running out of space and food. Hence, as leopards wander into human areas they become easy targets. Leopards straying outside the park boundaries often tend to prey on the young calves in the night causing cows to stop producing milk upon the death of their calves and causing significant damage to their livelihood. Officials also get seriously injured by leopard attacks during rescue missions. GOALS OF THE PROGRAMME Noting that the Lankan leopard is a sub species endemic to Sri Lanka,it is asserted that it is our heritage and therefore our responsibility to protect it. “Panthera pardus is the species that is common all around the world, but Panthera pardus kotiya is endemic to Sri Lanka. This has been proven through long-term research by a Sri Lankan scientist.” Even though they are protecting the habitat of leopards, they are automatically protecting many species of wildlife by protecting the habitat, which is their home. That is the most important part of conservation. Devising a balanced conservation strategy for the Sri Lankan leopard is becoming more and more important and it is hoped that by gaining insight into the demography, range use and behavior patterns of the leopards this study can provide an initial, solid groundwork from which informed and progressive decisions can be made. For the habitat of the leopard is fast disappearing and if this remarkable species is to be preserved in the remaining habitable pockets an increased understanding of them is essential. They are aiming to increase both populations by preventing the attacks on the populations. STRATEGIES IMPLEMENTED TO ACHIEVE THESE GOALS This small issue causing big results was first noticed and adopted a simple method from India of installing steel pens to lock the calves in at night to prevent the leopards from preying on them.It was first experimented with 4 pens and upon its evident success in resolving this friction between the villagers and the leopard project was continued .It was then adopted by Cinnamon Nature Trails and together with Cinnamon Wild Yala,they launched ‘Leopard Project’ continuing the work and donating steel pens to villagers to protect their livelihood. Humans & livestockThe leopard pen was a novel idea originated by late Dr. Ravi Samarasinghe and later adopted by John Keells Hotels. To date, with the help of Jonathan and Angela Scott, Exodus Tours UK and JKH Foundation, they have donated 32 cattle pens to farmers. By July 2013 they hope to donate eight more pens, bringing the total up to 40 pens. Although the initial plan was to stop at 40, it has now been decided that 75 pens will be donated. LeopardsAs part of the project, which is closely supervised by a panel of renowned scientists, 24 weatherproof trail camera traps were imported and placed in designated locations in Yala Block 1 and its buffer zones to estimate the leopard population and monitor their behaviour through picture analysis. Leopards are identified by spot patterns recorded by the photographs. A total of 70% of funds for the leopard project was raised by John Keells Hotels PLC, while the balance was raised by Jonathan and Angela Scott at a special fund raising event held at Royal Geographic Society in London on 19 September 2012. Environment- Leopards are considered a key stone species, a creature that has a disproportionately large impact on its local environment. An essential species in maintaining a balanced ecosystem, leopards can hunt in many different types of terrain and vegetation.By the above actions the environment gets protected . Does the implementing agency have the resources available to implement these strategies? Yala is known for its incredible biodiversity and as the best place for leopard sightings, which has resulted in an increase in visitors. Due to limited resources, wildlife authorities have struggled to conduct regular monitoring and anti-poaching patrol within the park. Land - the land is adequately available for this simple process. Resources – food, shelter - Separating the cattle isn’t enough, they have to put them in pens with a strong roof above – a leopard can climb a tree nearby and stalk. There are too many trees around that leopards can always go up.Land is adequate so the cattle herd can graze inside the pens. Finances - Cinnamon Wild & John Keells together raise the funds. Staffing- The Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC) officials are actively engaged in this task. Community and government support – They conduct community aware programmes through printed and other medias.(volunteers, NGOs),DWC officials also actively participate in this process. Suggestions for further improvements & Success of the project Earlier leopards would grab calves every week. Then villagers received a pen one-and-a-half years ago since then villagers have lost only one calf to a leopard. They sometimes attack cows, but not as frequently. This pen is 100% effective. Some wanted to give up cattle farming entirely due to leopard attacks but now they are successful since the calves are safe. There will have to be a comprehensive national plan adopted by provincial councils to create awareness at schools and share basic knowledge on how to share land with these cats. Further, the DWC and the corporate sector can undertake a short term action plan to enhance awareness at village level through schools, temples and community centers by launching an effective poster campaign. The print media can help launch this awareness creating effort, especially through the Sinhala and Tamil print media aimed at rural villagers. Building an accurate understanding of how important this animal is to the eco system, and how one could share land and co-exist will be a key to achieving success, and the print and even electronic media can play an important role here. Discussion Project Leopard is designed to focus on the local issue around the western boundaries of Yala's block 1 where intense cattle farming was fueling a conflict between leopards and cattle owners. They have assisted 67 families to mitigate their losses and even erase any losses from leopard attacks and this has enhanced these villagers’ earnings and their quality of life. The project intends to extend this assistance towards 100 families by the end of the year. wildlife managers are actively managing a natural system to maintain and use natural resources in a sustainable manner.It is overall a conservations process. REFERENCES http://life.dailymirror.lk/ https://open.library.ubc.ca/
