The Gujarat forest department is contemplating setting up a breeding centre for chitals (spotted deer) in Samli village, Panchmahals district, to increase the presence of herbivorous animals in central Gujarat, in a bid to maintain a favourable prey-predator balance.

The rise in the wild cat population combined with diminishing prey had authorities worried. Attacks on livestock in human habitation had risen sharply as a result of shortage of natural prey.

Jagdish Prasad, Conservator of Forest (CF), Vadodara forest circle said, “More than 50 cases of leopard attacks on livestock were reported annually in Vadodara circle, which led to an increase in human-wildlife conflict.”

"Due to the decreasing food base available for the wild cats, they attack livestock in human habitation. The situation is bound to worsen if proper initiatives are not taken,” Prasad said.

He said, on an experimental basis, they are planning to set up a breeding centre to provide prey base to at least 150-200 leopards in Panchmahals district. The area at Samli village is around 26,000 hectares of land. Similar initiatives undertaken in 1994-95 in Panchmahals district, failed to take off properly, as most of the spotted deer were diseased, as a result of which they failed to produce healthy offsprings.

“Most of the spotted deer had diseases and tuberculosis, as a result their offsprings were not healthy,” said an official.

At present, the forest department is trying to procure spotted deer from the Indroda Park managed by Gujarat Ecological Education Research (GEER) Foundation.

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