Wild animal sightings alarm Canacona ryots

Canacona: Frequent sightings of leopards and bisons in Canacona over the last few days has alarmed the villagers. They said there has been an increase in incidents of disappearance of domesticated animals, as well as many animals in their livestock are getting injured by the wild animals’ movement. Poinguinim village has been particularly hit by the human-animal conflict.

A villager said recently a bison was found injured after being hit by a car. Several horticulture farmers have suffered heavy losses due to bisons damaging their plantations. Many farmers fear potential damage to their crops .

The issue was raised during the recent gram sabha by Urvi Faldesai, demanding that the forest department should exercise concrete measures to control the movement of wild animals around the village, and ensure the safety of people and their livestocks.

Utkrant Faldesai, a horticulturist from Velvada, said he has seen a bison as well as two calves regularly roaming inside his plantation, fearing potential crop damage. “When I spotted a bison in my plantation recently, I immediately climbed a tree and remained there for almost 45 minutes till the wild animal had left. Their constant presence in cashew orchards has heightened our fears of potential crop damage,” Faldesai said.