Abstract
Why did leopards kill humans in Mumbai but not in Nairobi? Our initial hypothesis was that a different form of park management, more in harmony with that of the city, might explain the absence of leopard attacks on humans in Nairobi. We speculated that the actors in the two spheres coordinate their efforts to ensure better oversight of wildlife. This hypothesis was not confirmed. Instead, we see the importance of factors such as predation by leopards on populations of domestic dogs, the landscape configurations of the interfaces between park and city, and the diversity of representations of nature or social disparities, which generate differing vulnerabilities. This leads to a two-level conclusion regarding the role of the national trajectories in these countries of the Global South in respect of environmental concerns and their contribution to the new ways of understanding our relation to nature.
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Notes
- 1.
Around the world, leopard densities in rainforests have been estimated to not exceed 1 per 10 km² (Bailey 1993).
- 2.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75Yq0rOIsMY. Accessed on January 7, 2016.
- 3.
Though a lawyer from Mulund was killed in 2004, the only victim from the well-off social classes. He was in the habit of climbing into the park every morning before dawn… (Interview with members of the victim’s family, January 2014).
- 4.
Ranjeet Jadhav, “Leopard devours 6-yr-old in Mulund”, Mid-Day, July 17, 2012, http://www.mid-day.com/articles/leopard-devours-6-yr-old-in-mulund/172727. Accessed on June 7, 2016.
- 5.
Headed by the Community Warden, it also includes two corporals, two rangers, and a driver.
- 6.
Interview, February 13, 2013.
- 7.
See also Harrisson (1993): “Forests mark the provincial edge of Western civilization, in the literal as well as imaginative domains …. We call it the loss of nature, or the loss of wildlife habitat, or the loss of biodiversity, but underlying the ecological concern is perhaps a much deeper apprehension about the disappearance of boundaries, without which the human abode loses its grounding.” Leopard is to contribute to this transgression of boundaries….
- 8.
Although in charge of SGNP and the neighbouring Tungareshwar Wildlife Sanctuary, the FD does not appear to be very interested in enhancing the connectivity between these two forests. Yet, creating corridors and helping leopards move within a larger network of forests could help release the pressure on the national park by decreasing its population of leopards. Also, since mobility is critical to leopard survival, geographic isolation—like in the case of the SGNP—can lead to inbreeding, depression and increased extinction risk of the leopard population (Edelblutte 2016).
- 9.
They are also the first to call out on tribals undertaking illegal activities. During a field trip, E. Edelblutte visited a tribal village inside the park where a family was building a new house with better material than thatch since they had too many intrusions of leopards in their old house. A forest officer had to investigate after receiving a call from high-rise building residents living nearby who had reported “illegal activity from tribals”. The officer, empathetic towards their situation, just gave them a warning and told them to be more discreet, so that he does not get other calls from urban residents. Also note that Adivasi sometimes “use” leopard attacks to expose their living conditions and ask for better amenities (especially electricity, waste management system and public lighting) (Edelblutte 2016).
- 10.
Interview, August 2, 1014.
- 11.
Interview, July 21, 2014.
- 12.
Interview, July 20, 2014.
- 13.
Animals can be associated with black magic. We were told about a hyena that had been sent to kill an enemy’s livestock, but on the way had attacked the interviewee’s female cousin. The latter agreed that “yes, we need national parks… because animals are destructive, and otherwise elephants could kill people”. The park as protection for people, not wildlife….
- 14.
Interview in Maasai Mara, March 24, 2012.
- 15.
On the contrary, for many non-tribal Hindus the leopard has no prestige since it is not the vehicle of any god—unlike the tiger who is attached to Durga, Parvati or Shiva deities. (Yet in Himalayan states the leopard is regarded as the vehicle of the Goddess).
- 16.
Locally, the KWS can be supported by other actors. For example, fauna in the Ngong Road Forest are partially managed by the Ngong Road Forest Sanctuary Trust, which sometimes also calls upon the Kenya Forest Service in the event of problems. Moreover, the recent decentralisation has given greater powers to the counties in the management of biodiversity (see Chap. 8), and the KWS could probably do more to gain support from elected officials.
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Landy, F., Rodary, E., Calas, B. (2018). Why Did Leopards Kill Humans in Mumbai but not in Nairobi? Wildlife Management in and Around Urban National Parks. In: Landy, F. (eds) From Urban National Parks to Natured Cities in the Global South. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-8462-1_7
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