The impact of leopards (Panthera pardus) on livestock losses and human injuries in a human-use landscape in Maharashtra, India.

ABSTRACT: There are many ways in which large carnivores and humans interact in shared spaces. In this study we provide insights into human-leopard relationships in an entirely modified, human-dominated landscape inhabited by dense populations of humans (266 per km2), their livestock (162 per km2) and relatively high densities of large predators (10 per 100 km2). No human deaths were recorded, and livestock losses to leopards numbered only 0.45 per km2per year (averaged over three years) despite the almost complete dependency of leopards on domestic animals as prey. Predation was not the major cause of livestock mortality as diseases and natural causes caused higher losses (80% of self-reported losses). We also found that ineffective night time livestock protection and the presence of domestic dogs i

SUBMITTER: Athreya V 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7103201 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature