Leopard ‘plays’ with motorists in Himachal, raises concern

Shimla, Jan 15 : Videos of a well-built leopard ‘playing’ with motorists in Himachal Pradesh’s Tirthan Valley located in interiors of Kullu district has raised concern among wildlife experts.
The one-and-half-year leopard was seen playfully interacting with motorists time and again and its high comfort level amidst the presence of 15-20 people, who were busy in shooting it on their mobile cameras, indicates the wild cat was initially hand-reared, a wildlife official told IANS.
The incident of his affinity with passersby, largely local villagers, was reported on the Banjar-Kullu road on Thursday.
The official, requesting anonymity, said the unnatural playful instincts of this leopard, which is normally shy and rarely encountered in the daylight, indicate the animal is either surviving on scavenging or on the humans.
“The wild cat with such a high level of human imprinting is not natural. It should be kept in a rescue and rehabilitation centre to understand its behaviour. Its presence in the wild is a threat to the animal itself,” he said.
“The leopard can be either killed by another predator or by stray dogs,” he said, “even the behaviour of the humans playing with the leopard was worrisome”.