This public awareness campaign was called ‘Janata Waghoba’ – a title inspired from the widely popular Marathi Play ‘Janata Raja’ on the great Maratha king, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj). Since January 2016 we – scientists, an artist, the Forest Department and conservationists – joined hands to combine knowledge from tribal communities and scientific research and make it accessible to local people with the help of art.
The Janata Waghoba logo that was designed by Aditi Deo. The aim was to dispel fear and create a greater understanding of this complex issue. In our project we used extensive scientific knowledge on leopard behavior and biology, as well as traditional knowledge from communities who have historically shared spaces with these cats and know what precautions to take, and passed it on to communities who do not know as much about the animal. Often the knowledge that the public has about these animals is either what they hear from the people around them or from the media, and is usually more frightening than the reality. But the presence of a large predator like the leopard living amidst a high density human population has its associated problems of potential conflict. In rural areas, where agriculture and livestock rearing are major occupations for local people, domestic animals and dogs serve as the primary source of food for wild carnivores like leopards. Earlier, it was wolves that used to inhabit this landscape. This change has made agricultural areas a good refuge for species like leopards and hyenas. The landscape has thus changed from dryland to permanently irrigated agriculture, with cash crops such as maize and sugarcane flourishing alongside traditional crops of millets. But the construction of dams on major rivers changed everything, with irrigation bringing a regular water supply to hitherto dry areas. These landscapes were arid zones until about 40-50 years ago.
Junnar and Sangamner talukas in Pune and Ahmednagar Districts respectively, which are interspersed with a mosaic of mountains, rivers, sugarcane fields and forts, are also home to leopards. The part of Maharashtra state which has been flanked by the Ghats on the west is known as Western Maharashtra.
The area is one of the richest biodiversity hotspots in the world, as well as the origin of important rivers like the Godavari, Kaveri, Krishna, Thamiraparani and Tungabhadra. The Northern Western Ghats, also known as the Sahyadris, are home to many species of flora and fauna.
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