The Vulnerable leopard Panthera pardus is declining as a result of poaching, habitat loss, retaliatory killing and collisions with vehicles. In the southern Indian state of Karnataka there is also an unconventional threat that has received little attention: leopards accidentally falling into unsecured open wells. During 2008–2017 there were 70 incidents of leopards falling into wells, in 10 of 30 districts, with the greatest number recorded in Udupi district (46%). Leopards were released at the site (40%, n = 28), or assisted to escape on their own or were translocated after rescue (41%, n = 29). Eleven per cent (n = 8) of the leopards died as a result of the fall, and 7% (n = 5) were sent to zoos, with serious injuries. The highest number of falls occurred during the pre-monsoon and monsoon seasons in districts with high rainfall, which may curtail visibility. Open wells are an emerging threat to the leopard and other animal species, and require covers and the security of a parapet.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO’s) World Heritage Convention, adopted in 1972, encourages to identify and conserve unique and invaluable sites of global significance. These sites are recognized by their outstanding universal value (OUV). This article adapts takes up a detailed qualitative analysis on the status, trend and challenges of keeping intact the key OUV of five natural WHSs of India using a questionnaire survey, and respondents were forest frontline staff and community representatives. The Statement of OUV of each site was broken into more understandable components, and the important issues affecting these components were then assessed for their current condition and trend. Subsequently, strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) analysis was also carried out for each of the studied WHSs. The attributes of three out of five study sites are stable with a strong law and enforcement regime; they also have some concerns regarding limited manpower, anthropogenic disturbance and public engagement opportunities. For the remaining two sites, the current threats are a matter of concern and require continued and enhanced management strategies. We also recommend that the site-specific detailed management requirements of OUV need fine-tuning in the sites’ existing management plans. Finally, the outcome of the present assessment was compared with the IUCN World Heritage Outlook Report 2020.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.