Human-wildlife clashes in Kashmir have claimed over 100 lives and left 906 injured since 2018, with leopards being the primary threat. Nearly 1,000 encounters have been recorded as shrinking habitats push wildlife into human spaces.
In June 2021, Yasir Ahmad Mir, 45, was preparing to offer Maghrib prayers when he suddenly heard the cries of his father, Ghulam Hassan Mir, who was sitting in the lawn with his two granddaughters. Rushing outside, Yasir found his 6-year-old daughter, Aadha Yasir Mir, missing.
Yasir’s heart “skipped a beat” when he found the doll of his daughter in the lawn—his father was yet to grasp what happened.
The entire area was on high alert after reports of leopards roaming in the residential area. “I could feel that my daughter was also taken away by the leopard and the same had happened,” recalls Yasir, who lives in Central Kashmir’s Budgam district.
The mutilated body of Aadha was found on the next day by locals in a nearby forest nursery—looked after and maintained by the forest department of Jammu and Kashmir.
A pall of gloom descended the whole area as soon as the body of the child was brought home. “On that day, I could literally feel how the smallest coffin is the heaviest,” says Yasir Mir, a business person.
The leopard seized Aadha in its jaws and vanished into the forest nursery. The ambush was so swift and precise that Yasir’s daughter didn’t even catch a glimpse of the predator.
Yasir Mir aiming towards the forest nursary outside his home in Housing colony Ompora Budgam. [FPK Photo/Faisal Bashir.]
This was not an isolated incident. Over the years leopards had created havoc in other parts of Kashmir valley and claimed hundreds of lives and injured many— with data indicating a concerning trend. The incidents are leaving the families devastated, with the authorities unable to deal with the crises.
As per figures from the wildlife department of Jammu and Kashmir, the Valley has reported over 100 fatalities due to human-wildlife conflicts, primarily involving leopards, since 2018. Additionally, 906 people were injured, and 1000 human-animal encounters were documented.
The figures further reveal that 95 percent killings occurred due to child lifting by man-eaters only. Notably, leopards have been a major concern for both residents and the J&K Wildlife Department —claiming over 90 lives, including those of children, over the past five years. The big cat has now even ventured into residential areas of Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir.
Encroachment and urbanization
The Kashmir Valley is home to a vast expanse of trees, with the Union Territory having a total forest cover of 20,230 sq km (20.23 lakh hectares), accounting for 19.95 percent of its total geographical area of 101,387 sq km on this side of the Line of Control. Excluding Ladakh, forests cover 48 percent of the region’s total geographical area, which is significantly higher than the national average of 24.47 percent.
However, a good number of the population resides near or in the jungles—leaving the habitat of the animals disturbed. Over the year, various projects from the state and the central government have severely impacted the forest area. Hundreds of trees have been felled, and large sections of land encroached upon for road construction.
According to a report, the forests of J&K are disappearing at a significant rate, with 112 hectares of natural forest lost in 2023 alone. Another report says that the region has lost 40 square kilometers of forest cover in the last two years.
However, as per a survey form Forest Report (ISFR) 2023, the region has recorded an increase of 91.25 square kilometers in forest and tree cover in two years.
In April 2024, the J&K government informed the National Green Tribunal (NGT) that over 19722 hectares of forest land is still under encroachment across the region.
In the name of developmental projects, many highways, railway lines, and hotels are being constructed in the forest areas, thereby completely disturbing the ecological fragile zone.
As per a report, over 21,000 trees have been axed for the construction of 670 km Delhi-Amritsar-Katra Expressway by National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). The government is also planning to construct a highway from Rajouri district in Jammu region to Baramulla district in Kashmir valley. The regional political parties have expressed their concern over the project saying it will be an “ecological disaster”. The government is also planning to construct a road from Srinagar to Pahalgam, which, according to environmental activists, will require the felling of 845 trees and the acquisition of 108 kanals of forest land.
The government is also planning to construct a railway line connecting the South Kashmir district headquarters with Pahalgam. Meanwhile, work on the Srinagar Ring Road is progressing rapidly. Both projects are expected to improve connectivity and significantly ease travel for Amarnath Yatra pilgrims, reducing travel time and congestion. However, the locals and environmental experts have expressed their displeasure over the projects.
The government is also planning to build a Gondola ropeway in the south Kashmir hill resort of Pahalgam. However, the region’s forest department has raised an objection, stating that the project would require the chopping of hundreds of conifer trees. In North Kashmir’s Kupwara, the forest department also denied forest clearance to different road projects in border areas.
Interestingly, most of the projects were carried out after 2019 when New Delhi revoked Article 370 of the Indian constitution— and brought the region under its direct rule. Although the valley got its elected government in September 2024, it doesn’t have much say in stopping these central projects.
These projects, experts say, disturb the natural habitat of wild animals, forcing them to prowl in the residential areas. This in turn is escalating human-animal conflict.
Dr. Bilal Ahmad Bhat, a Zoology professor at University of Kashmir, argues that multiple factors fuel Kashmir’s human-wildlife conflict. One of the main factors, he says, is population explosion increasing settlements in agriculture/horticulture lands and paving roads through forests.
“With the result,” Bhat said, “there’s a land conversion bringing humans in proximity to wildlife.”
He further said that “depletion of natural prey base” can be also one of the factors of conflict. “Animals rely on various components in their natural habitat, including food, water, and mates. If any of these are lacking, they will venture out in search of them.”
Bernate village is nestled on a hillock, surrounded by dense forest and towering pine trees. [FPK Photo/Faisal Bashir.]
Intisar Sohail, Wildlife Warden North Kashmir, reckons that leopards have historically been conflict animals and cannot be fully controlled. He argues that most leopards in the valley do not remain in forest habitation and prefer to remain close to human habitation.
“They have everything they need in human habitation—food in the form of dogs and cover provided by orchards—so they tend to stay close to residential areas,” he said.
He further explains that leopards have a diverse prey base and can feed on anything from wild poultry to dogs and rodents.
Dogs are seen inside forest nursary at Housing Colony Ompora, Budgam. [FPK Photo/Faisal Bashir.]
According to a study, 52 percent of leopard attacks occurred close to human habitations in Kashmir. The study titled as “Predator Alert” found that leopard attacks were more common in the winter-spring seasons and most attacks occurred in daylight hours.
It further revealed that leopard attacks are higher in Kupwara, Handwara areas of north Kashmir.
Solid wastes
Our investigation found that most encounters were reported in north and central Kashmir, particularly in areas with significant garbage accumulation, urbanization and unscientific waste dumping.
This reporter investigated over eight cases of leopard-human conflict and found that children often became prey to leopards searching for food. Most of the encounters took place outside the wildlife protected areas.
In case of Aadha Mir, the leopard apparently came to hunt dogs that usually gathered near the solid waste dumped by people in the area.
Yasir Mir displaying the picture of his daughter killed in Leopard attack in Housing colony Ompora Budgam. [FPK Photo/Faisal Bashir.]
More than three years after the incident, this reporter found the heaps of garbage dumped just a stone’s throw from Aadha’s house. Interestingly, the garbage is just near the hut/office of the wildlife department. One could see a pack of dogs around the waste.
The leopard, after killing Aadha, took refuge in the plateaus of Budgam near Srinagar airport. This entire area, as per the locals, has become a safe haven for leopards. The big cat vanished into the same highlands after killing Toiba Mushtaq, Rabia Nisar, and others.
A mother displaying the picture of Rabia Nisar killed due to leopard attack. [FPK Photo/Faisal Bashir.]
While travelling to at least seven districts of the region, this reporter observed solid waste littered along many roadsides.
Notably, the Rural Development Department (RDD) of Jammu and Kashmir has constructed solid waste sheds in every village of the region for segregation of garbage/waste, however, most of these sheds remain choked with solid waste and the department doesn’t clean them on a daily basis.
Many of these sheds are overflowing with trash, attracting dozens of stray dogs, posing health hazards, and making the surroundings unhygienic for residents.
Heaps of garbage are seen lying on roadside near Semsan Khansahib in Budgam. [FPK Photo/Faisal Bashir.]
In almost all the places, one could see dozens of dogs around the waste—searching for food.
“This is indeed a major concern,” noted Irfan Rasool Wani, Chief Conservator of Forests, Kashmir.
He argues that improperly disposed surplus food and solid waste attract dogs, which serve as easy prey for leopards.
“Dogs are easy to target and their population is increasing day by day. Since solid wastes are accumulated close to the human population, the leopards often mistake children for dogs and attack them,” Wani added.
Humans aren’t the primary food of the leopard, he said, emphasizing on effective management of solid waste.
The only daughter
Mushtaq Ahmad Khan, 45, a shawl weaver from Budgam’s Hariwani village, curses himself for not saving his 5-year old daughter, Toiba Mushtaq. The kid was snatched by a leopard from her courtyard.
Recalling the fateful day, Khan said that due to the absence of a washroom inside their house, his wife took Toiba outside when the leopard suddenly attacked and snatched her away.
“I tried to save her but leopard managed to take her away,” said Sara Bano, mother of Toiba. “Leopard attacked me as well but he took my daughter in his jaws.”
Parents displaying the picture of their only daughter Toiba Mushtaq killed due to Leopard attack in Harwani Khansahib in Budgam. [FPK Photo/Faisal Bashir.]
Khan lives in a single-storied mud-house with three rooms and a kitchen. He shares the space with his two siblings. He believes his daughter would still be with them if their home had been properly fenced.
“The leopard came from a cliff and took our daughter from the same side,” Khan said.
Sitting in the lawn of her house, Sara seems to be still in shock, yet to come with the terms that their child, who was blessed after two years of their marriage, is no longer with them.
“She was our only child,” she laments. “There is not a single day when we don’t miss her.”
Toiba’s dead body was located the next day by the residents in nearby bushes after several hours of intense searching. This was the second incident in just 20 days. Before that the leopard had killed a 9-year-old girl in the nearby Samsan village.
Although the Wildlife Department issued shoot-at-sight orders to eliminate the “man-eater” leopard, it failed to yield any results—leaving the entire village in fear.
Sleepless nights in Uri
In the frontier Uri division of North Kashmir, a “man-eater” leopard has been terrorizing residents for the past five years. The situation worsened in 2022 when the big cat mauled at least three children to death in the villages of Kalsan, Batangee, and Trikanjan in Boniyar Tehsil. Experts maintain that leopards kill and drag according to their weight, that’s why children aged 3-15 years often fall to their prey.
The first victim of the leopard was Shahid Ahmad Ganaie of Trikanjan, Boniyar. The 14-year old boy was out to take his family cows for grazing on 13 June 2022 when he was attacked. He was accompanied by his brother.
After a few hours, his brother frantically returned to the home and informed his parents that Shahid was attacked by the leopard. “We raised hue and cry and ran towards the grazing spot along with the villagers but we couldn’t spot him,” said Abdula Jabar, father of Shahid, a laborer.
Abdul Jabar Ganie displaying the picture of his son Shahid Ahamad Ganie of Trikanjan, Boniyar Uri. [FPK Photo/Faisal Bashir.]
On the next day, Shahid’s headless body was found deep inside the forest by family accompanied by police and wildlife officials.
“It was like doomsday,” recalls Jabar, “we had to attach his head with his body. The leopard had brutally mauled our son.”
Jabar resides in a modest two-storied house within the forest area. Having lived in the village for decades, he now longs to move to plains.
“We are living close to the jungle,” he said. “We don’t have a washroom inside our house and we have to venture out for relief and it’s very risky.”
Two days later, on June 14, the same leopard, according to locals, struck Bernate, another village in Boniyar, killing 7-year-old Rutba Manzoor. Her brother, Abid Manzoor, recounted that Rutba had gone to a nearby forest with their mother, Halima Begum, to collect firewood when the leopard attacked and carried her away in its jaws.
“My mother couldn’t save her and she returned home and informed us,” Abid said.
Without wasting any time, the family along with other relatives and the wildlife department went in search of Rutba, only to find her dead body. “She had deep wounds on her neck and face,” said Abid.
Abid Manzoor displaying the picture of his sister Rutba Manzoor. [FPK Photo/Faisal Bashir.]
Bernate village is nestled on a hillock, surrounded by dense forests and towering pine trees. Like Rutba, 13-year-old Amir Muneer of Kalsan was also killed by the feline in the same area.
Amir, as per locals, was returning home from a playground when he was attacked by a leopard and dragged into the woods.
“When he didn’t return home till late evening, the family along with a few villagers went in search of him,” said Riyaz Ahhmad, a local. He said Amir’s body was badly mauled by the leopard.
Following the back-to-back killings, the residents held a massive protest in the Uri.
The Jammu and Kashmir wildlife department swung into action and deployed over 50 of its men including sharpshooters to catch or kill the leopard. On 07 June that year, the officials managed to shoot dead the man-eater after intense searching.
“Human and animal co-exist”
As per figures, Jammu and Kashmir has a total forest cover of 20230 Sq km (20.23 lakh hectares) accounting for 19.95% of the total Geographical area of 101387 Sq km. This area is divided into reserved forests (2,551 sq km), protected forests (15,912 sq km), and unclassified forests.
The region has five National Parks, 14 Wildlife Sanctuaries and 35 Conservation Reserves. The Protected Area (PA) network of the two UTs is the highest in the country in terms of area.
However, the forests in the region are scattered and in patches, making it easy for the wild animals to reach the residential areas.
The officials of the wildlife department argue that people of Jammu and Kashmir need to understand that the topography of the region is such that they have to “coexist” with the animals.
“The topography here leaves no choice but to coexist with wildlife,” said Irfan Rasool, quoted above. He emphasized the need for proper management, including efficient garbage disposal, clearing unnecessary vegetation, and adhering to essential dos and don’ts to minimize conflict.
Rashid Y. Naqash, Regional Wildlife Warden Headquarters (J&K), argues that most of the places where these incidents take place are very fragmented and are interfaced with forests.
He said the leopards present in the places like Budgam are known as “semi-urban leopards” as they have been living there for many years. “Their link got broken,” he said. “Karewas are their habitat and they belong to this place.”
Irfan Rasool echoes Naqash’s views, stating that leopards possess a “genetic memory” and tend to revisit areas where their ancestors once hunted for prey.
However, there are increasing complaints that the wildlife department is struggling to manage the crisis, with many of its personnel lacking the skills to handle such situations effectively.
Rejecting the allegations, Naqash said people can’t expect them to be everywhere and they do their job on SOS bases. “This is a very challenging job but our men are well equipped to deal with any crises,” he said.
A child looks towards forest area in Semsan Khansahib in Budgam. [FPK Photo/Faisal Bashir.]
While the wildlife department of the region maintains that the rising leopard-human conflict in Kashmir needs a joint effort from the Government and the public, there is an urgent need for a comprehensive approach to wildlife management and habitat conservation.
Rapid urbanization, deforestation, and improper waste disposal have disrupted the natural ecosystem, pushing leopards closer to human settlements in search of food.
At the same time, the authorities need to take-on the crisis on multiple fronts including strengthening waste management, securing forest boundaries, and raising public awareness about coexistence strategies are crucial steps in mitigating future conflicts.
