Doomdooma: A female leopard that had reportedly been roaming around Margherita town in Assam’s Tinsukia district was trapped in a cage at the A R & T Plywood premises in Ward No. 5 on Friday night.
The leopard had allegedly been moving through the area after dark and preying on domestic animals, causing concern among residents. The Margherita Forest Range Office had installed a cage at the site two days earlier.
“The capture has brought immediate relief, but the long-term answer is to protect the forest habitat rather than treat every leopard as a threat,” a local resident said.
The incident comes amid repeated leopard-related encounters in Tinsukia district. In April, another leopard was captured after reportedly preying on livestock at Daimukhia Tea Estate under the Doomdooma Forest Division.
Wildlife experts have linked increasing human-leopard encounters to factors such as habitat fragmentation, degradation of forests, reduced availability of natural prey and water, development-related disturbance and growing human activity.
Leopards are highly adaptable and can survive in landscapes close to human settlements. Studies from eastern India have found that the species can use fragmented forests, tea plantations and other areas offering sufficient vegetation cover.
The Wildlife Institute of India has also highlighted habitat fragmentation caused by development and linear infrastructure as a threat to leopard habitats, particularly as a significant proportion of India’s leopard population lives outside protected areas.
Climate-related changes, including shifts in habitat conditions, drought and extreme temperatures, may add further pressure to wildlife and human settlements.
The Margherita incident has again drawn attention to the importance of maintaining forest connectivity, protecting natural prey habitats and securing wildlife corridors to reduce human-wildlife conflict.