This follows on from the post 3 days ago, this latest case in Rajasthan where a leopard died in a snare yesterday, I spent last night trying to get details, not just because this happened in our zone but because I follow up as much as possible in South Asia.

Every day there is a multitude of leopard cases which flow through our alert system. Most are conflict issues and getting information on these is difficult even when on location because there is usually a lot of emotion involved particularly if people have been attacked or worse. Everyone tells a different story but as time goes by there are tools which can help define detail.

Poaching cases is different. These cases always involve a body or at least body parts which have been seized. It is important to remember though, as I’ve said many times, cases with evidence are only the tip of the iceberg, every day in South Asia leopards die, as you read this right now it’s odds on a leopard will be suffering terribly in a snare trap somewhere.

The reason it is vital to get as much information as possible about known leopard deaths is that every case tells a story. With snares, it can often be ascertained if the trap was set to target wild meat (bushmeat) meaning the leopard, tiger or other predator caught was collateral catch. Investigation may however lead to targeting of the big cats themselves in which case it can mean a whole new set of dynamics as to who is involved and this makes intelligence gathering and networking of data sources important. I’m not going into all those types of details right now, one day I will, I’m just too busy at the moment.

There are commonalities whatever the situation. The main one is that a big cat, usually a leopard, has died. The second one is there is not enough overall concern about this situation. Following through on these cases is often a lonely, painstaking job and as I wrote in the previous post it often reveals just who really does care about this carnage. Illegal wildlife trade, wildlife crime in general is still not a big enough part of people’s consciousness, there is a lack of realization just how serious things are, just how much wildlife we are losing every day. The third commonality is the straight out sadness attached to the situation, that a leopard has died in such a brutal way. Our range of emotions when this occurs makes us human. It always cuts.

Appended early evening same day after many hours on several other cases of leopards dying in snares:

And then: