Disgraceful leopard mania reports by Shimla media

News, Views
Photo courtesy : Alta Conservation
Photo courtesy : Alta Conservation

Shimla :If you were to believe all the local media reports of prowling leopards in Shimla you might think these big cats are blood thirsty monsters !

Particularly the stories by some high selling vernacular dailies .You might think leopards in town are the biggest crisis facing the people in this Himachal Pradesh capital .

Alarming headlines and stories from time to time tell us that leopards are a big threat to all in this hill town.Never mind if they are just harmlessly prowling in the dead of night in wooded Shimla .

This alarm by the media is based on some sightings of these big cats often spotted by passing car head lights.

The media tells us the gory details of an occasional dog turning into a prey of a starving leopard who finds nothing in the nearby woods.

Newspaper reports tell us how these quiet and solitary leopards have scared the hell out of residents who fear for their lives .

The media quotes wildlife officials saying that attempts are being made for weeks to trap these animals without any success .

Wildlife officials tell us five cages are installed all over Shimla but the smart cats are keeping away from them.

For the last couple of years the civic officials have completely failed to remove stray dogs from the town. So packs of stray dogs rule the hill station and animal rights activists are happy .

With thousands of dogs barking away into the night what is the harm if these leopards kill some of them. Should the media get so alarmed by such a natural process .

This cleansing by the big cats will only check the numbers and do what the civic officials have failed to do .

We all know that leopards are found in large numbers all over a India . Attacks on humans are very rare, even though the killing and lynching of these majestic animals is on the rise .

But looks like the media coverage of leopard sightings will continue in this disgraceful way !