The Man killing Leopards of Nagrakata Part 1
The Dooars, derived from the word "duar," meaning doorway,
serves as the gateway to Bhutan and the northeastern Himalayas, stretching
across the foothills of the eastern Himalayas in North Bengal. This enchanting
region spans from the Teesta River in the west to the Sankosh River in the
east, encompassing parts of Jalpaiguri, Alipurduar, and Cooch Behar districts.
Characterized by gently undulating terrain, rich alluvial soil, and a network
of rivers and streams, the Dooars is a fertile floodplain that supports lush
vegetation and vibrant biodiversity.
Geographically, the region lies between the Himalayan
foothills and the Brahmaputra basin, creating a transitional zone that blends
montane and tropical ecosystems. The climate is humid and subtropical, with
heavy monsoon rainfall nurturing dense forests and verdant tea gardens. These
forests are part of the Eastern Himalayan biodiversity hotspot and include
protected areas like Gorumara National Park, Jaldapara National Park, and Buxa
Tiger Reserve.
The forests of the Dooars are home to iconic wildlife such
as the Indian rhinoceros, Asian elephant, Bengal tiger, and a variety of deer,
primates, and birds. Sal (Shorea robusta) dominates the forest canopy,
accompanied by other species like teak, simul, and bamboo. The region’s
rivers—Teesta, Torsa, Jaldhaka, and others—meander through these forests,
creating rich riparian habitats and sustaining both wildlife and human settlements.
The Gorumara National Park and its surrounding forests are
separated from the Jaldapara National Park by the forests which lie on both
sides of the Diana River. The Diana River is a vital ecological artery, flowing
through rich forested landscapes that support diverse wildlife and sustain
local communities.
Originating in the sub-Himalayan foothills of North Bengal,
the Diana River meanders through the lush terrain of the Dooars region
before joining the Jaldhaka River. Its course traverses parts of Jalpaiguri and
Alipurduar districts, where the river’s dynamic flow shapes the geomorphology
of the landscape. The Diana is a perennial river, fed by monsoon rains and
Himalayan runoff, and plays a crucial role in maintaining the hydrological
balance of the region.
The adjacent forests along the Diana River feature a mosaic
of sal-dominated woodlands, riparian vegetation, and grasslands. These forests
are contiguous with protected areas like Jaldapara National Park and Buxa
Tiger Reserve, forming critical corridors for wildlife movement. Asian
elephants, Indian bison (gaur), leopards, and a variety of deer species
frequent these habitats, while the riverbanks attract numerous bird species,
including kingfishers, herons, and migratory waterfowl.
Human settlements near the Diana River depend on its waters
for agriculture, fishing, and daily needs. However, the region faces challenges
from riverbank erosion, shifting channels, and encroachment, which threaten
both ecological integrity and livelihoods. Conservation efforts focus on
maintaining the river’s natural flow and protecting its forested buffer zones
to ensure long-term sustainability.
We visited the Nagrakata area on the 229th October,
2025. There have been disturbing reports of human attacks by leopards over the past
couple of months. There has been little reporting about the situation on the
ground. We felt ti would be interesting to see, on the ground, as it were, the locations
of the attacks and to try to find out why they were occurring so often. We
drove to the Dooars from Siliguri
The landscape is
idyllic. The Himalayas rising in the North, now a little blurred as it is a
cloudy day. The river (Diana) which was full just a couple of weeks ago and had
flooded even the highway is now a typical Dooars river, occupying at most a
small fraction of its bed. The water is clear and blue. On both sides are the forests
punctuated with an occasional cattle herd browsing lazily on the verdant
greenery in this post monsoon landscape.
Just off the highway on both sides are tea gardens with
evocative names; Diana, Gandrapara, Kathalguri, Kalabari. Some of these are now
not functioning, this is evident as we see the tea bushes are unkempt and full
of weeds and the ubiquitous lantana. This has created large stretches of scrub
jungle, ideal environment for the leopard. The tea garden ‘lines”, the quarters
for the workers are embedded at various parts of the tea garden. Other small
homesteads also exist, possibly they have squatted on forest land adjacent to the
tea gardens.
The forests are full of wildlife, at least if Forest Department
censuses are anything to go by. Straying from the forest to the human landscape
is common. The Forest Department officials spend a large amount of their time
trying to prevent human wildlife conflict whenever this happens and it is
creditable that in most cases, they are able to do this successfully. It must
be remembered that they are dealing with the largest land mammal in the world,
the elephant, the huge gaurs and occasionally the leopard. Several NGOs have also teamed up with the
Forest Departmen to provide vehicles and other equipment to make it easier for
them to do this job. In the main they have been quite successful; occasional
injuries do occur, but fatalities are few and far between.
The leopard lives in close proximity to humans. It has
become increasingly obvious in recent times that their numbers are on the rise
and they have begun to spill over from the protected areas into the unprotected
forests and especially into the tea gardens. This was common the Dooars, where
garden workers who were unfortunate enough to disturb a leopard resting in the bushes
often suffered injuries as the startled animal tried to escape. Tea workers have
long observed that female leopards often prefer to drop their cubs in the “nalas”
that intersect the sections of the tea bushes. These accidental encounters have
caused the occasional death, but as mentioned before, these are uncommon.
(to be continued)
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