Wild Leopards Prowl Very Close to Human Homes

In the first-ever real-time tracking of leopard populations in India, researchers have determined that the big cats are surprisingly fearless when it comes to wandering near human neighborhoods. This was determined in a new GPS study, which has uncovered how these animals try to thrive in a man's world.

Most large predators, like tigers, wolves, and mountain lions, try to avoid human contact at all costs, only wandering near human settlements when food and territory are scarce.

However, this may not be the case for leopards. According to  a study recently published in the journal PLOS One, researchers observed how these big cats of the eastern hemisphere are crafty and adaptable enough to live off even human land with little notice, much like coyotes do half a globe away.

The study details the activity of five leopards (two males and three females) who had been captured as "problem animals," despite the fact that they had not attacked people.

Collared with GPS and radio units, the animals were re-released into the wild so they could be tracked for up to 12 months. (Scroll to read on...)

Stunningly, the animals did not move further into the wild. Two of the leopards stayed very close to human residences, even following their capture.

"This could have in fact, aggravated the conflict, as these animals passed through highly-human dominated (even industrial) areas," the study authors wrote.

However, the animals were amazingly never noticed. The researchers observed that they employed clever tactics to avoid human aggression, including hunting at night, and ran an almost "hit-and-run" strategy to scrounge for food.

"This gave them an access to people's livestock, and yet kept them safe from people," study co-author Vidya Athreya explained in a statement.

By day, they stalked much further away. However, the wide home-ranges of the animals encompassed human residential areas more often than not. Two of the females even gave birth to cubs during the course of the study, indicating that the leopards were there to stay.

Of course, with these animals preying on livestock, they are as much a threat to people's livelihoods as their behavior is to themselves. In North America, coyotes are allowed to be shot and killed as their populations remain high.

But Indian leopards are far lower in number (about 1,150 since the last WWF census), and have moved into residential areas for lack of wide hunting territories. Still, the authors stress that this clear adaptation of the animals needs to be discouraged at all costs.

The Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported earlier this year how a leopard in the city of Meerut caused utter panic after it wandered into a hospital and a cinema. Another leopard even killed a 5-year-old boy in central Chhattisgarh state before it was hunted down, highlighting the dangers of these natural-born killers.