Crimes Against Indonesia's Leopards Should Never be Treated Lightly!

A female Javan leopard in Tierpark Berlin.

A recent paper published in the Nature Conservation has shown that Indonesia has a serious illegal trade in two regional big cat species: the Javan leopard and the Sunda clouded leopard. Both the species are already facing extinction, especially that the trafficking of the cats remains a widely overlooked problem. In the paper, researchers gathered 41 records of leopard parts or living animals confiscated by authorities between 2011 and 2019. Much of the data and information collected came from media reports, published literature, and the Indonesian government's open-access court case database. The researchers estimated that the products of these confiscations represent about 83 animals, consisting of 51 Javan leopards and 32 Sunda clouded leopards. Majority of the seizures occurred within Indonesia, but the authors identified three international shipments that originated from Indonesia: one to the United Kingdom, one to Kuwait, and one to Russia. Despite rigorous protections for both the species under the local law and international governance, only 20 prosecutions were recorded in the paper. Of those, the lengthiest sentence was two years and a fine equal to $3,550; most sentences were around one year or less, with fines.

Sunda clouded leopard

I cannot express how disappointing it is to see how Indonesia's leopard species are tremendously suffering from the illegal wildlife trade. What is more frustrating is that law enforcement agencies, prosecutors, police, and even judges think that the crimes committed against these cats are not so big of a deal. Instead, they are very much focused on the plight concerning more charismatic species like the orangutan and the Sumatran tiger. These are the words of Iding Haid, a clouded leopard researcher and forest ecosystem specialist at Kerinci Seblat National Park on the island of Sumatra. He also suggested that workshops and on-the-job training need to be conducted to help law enforcement understand the significance of prosecuting wildlife crimes. This includes stiffer sentences and fines to those convicted of smuggling Indonesia's wildlife. I strongly urge the government of Indonesia to understand the importance of lesser known species like Javan leopards and Sunda clouded leopards in order to protect the country's wildlife. Attention should never be limited to flagship species like tigers, orangutans, elephants, and rhinos. Lesser known species also play an important role in the ecosystems of Indonesia. The Javan leopard is the only powerful predator now living on Java after the Javan tiger became extinct. It is on the precipice of extinction and it is vitally important that it should be under full protection for the ecological betterment of Java. The Sunda clouded leopard is known for being genetically distinct from the mainland clouded leopard. It specializes in preying on monkeys, deer, and wild pigs especially in Borneo which doesn't have tigers or leopards. The findings in this paper should serve as a wake-up call for Indonesia to change its attitudes towards lesser known species and that they are given the same level of attention as flagship species with respect to conservation. Furthermore, the public needs to be made aware about lesser known species and not just flagship species and why they are important for the ecological betterment of the country. 

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Should Relocating of Big Cats and Other Wild Carnivores be Discontinued?

Close up of a tiger

In the wild places of Africa and Asia, conflicts between big cats and people are inevitable when the two species live side-by-side. Whenever an incident of an attack arises, the response is to relocate the big cat so that it doesn't stray into human settlements. However, this simple and direct method is not working out in the end. One such example occurred sometime ago when a six-year-old lioness named Magigi was captured and relocated to Botswana's Central Kalahari Game Reserve after repeatedly killing cattle. Although she spent most of her life in the reserve, Magigi strayed outside its boundaries after a year and was shot dead by a farmer. New research has shown that lions continue to prey on livestock and threaten villagers' livelihoods after being relocated. In Botswana, 13 relocated lions that were observed by a team of scientists died within a year of being moved. Some were killed by people in retaliation, while others probably succumbed to the stress.

A lion in Botswana

In India, a tiger relocation project took place in 2018 when two tigers from Madhya Pradesh, a male named Mahavir of Kanha National Park and a female named Sundari of Bandhavgarh National Park, were relocated in Odisha's Satkosia Tiger Reserve. The purpose of the relocation was to increase the state's tiger population. But within weeks, the project ran into trouble with villagers living on the edge of the reserve protesting the tigers' relocation. The issue eventually escalated into a political matter. Angry tribal people attacked forest officials as they were evicted from the core area to the outer fringes of the reserve. Within months of relocation, Mahavir was killed by poachers and later Sundari had to be moved to an enclosure after killing two villagers. The project was ultimately suspended.

A tiger in Bandhavgarh National Park

I used to think that relocation of wild carnivorous animals away from human habitations is an effective way to minimize conflicts. However, a 1997 review of studies from around the world has indicated that most carnivores try to return to areas in the vicinity of human settlements after being relocated far away. An investigation from 2011 confirmed that the method is more expensive and less effective than alternative methods. This goes to show that mitigating human-wildlife conflict is a very complex issue that requires a multi-step approach. But based on the global studies, I don't think relocating wild carnivores should be discontinued. It is very important to monitor individual big cats and other carnivores after they have been relocated to see how long they spend time far away from human settlements and when they start coming back. However, in addition to relocating wild carnivores, it is highly crucial to improvise human settlements by building some kind of a barricade in the vicinity to prevent the animals from re-entering. There is also a great need to conduct awareness programs geared at educating local villagers about the importance of wild carnivores, the roles they play in nature, and why retaliatory killings are not the answer in preventing human-wildlife conflicts. Populations of wild carnivores have depleted dramatically over the years, with Africa's lion populations having plummeted by 43 percent in the past 20 years. Much of the depletion is attributed to development, along with reduction in prey populations and retaliatory killings. It is high time to take intense preventive measurements to prevent conflicts between wild carnivores and people.

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