Most attacks on humans by leopards non-predatory, resulted in minor injuries: study

A new study on human-leopard conflict in Himachal Pradesh has revealed that most attacks on humans were non-predatory and resulted in minor injuries.

The study titled ‘Charting risk pathways of leopard attacks on people: A decision tree approach’ and conducted over an 11-year period has found that most attacks on humans (74%) were non-predatory and resulted in minor injuries.

The research documented 344 leopard attacks on people, providing a detailed analysis of the factors influencing severity of human injury and community perceptions.

It further revealed that predatory attacks were rare (7%), on adolescents under 15 years old, who were at greater risk of severe outcomes (death) due to their size (approximately 30 kg), and were nearly 88% more likely to experience fatal or grievous injuries compared to adults.

The study was led by Shweta Shivakumar as part of her doctoral research at the Centre the Wildlife Studies and Manipal Academy of Higher Education.

“In addition to physical injuries, more than half of the respondents highlighted significant

intangible impacts, including fear, anxiety, and behavioral changes. These effects disrupted daily routines, with many individuals avoiding outdoor activities, such as farming or sending children to school, due to perceived risks of leopard attacks,” the study further revealed.

Another highlight of the study found that most leopard attacks occurred at night and during routine activities, disproportionately affecting low-income individuals who made up 66% of victims due to their greater exposure during outdoor livelihood activities.

“This study detected that the majority of the attacks on people by leopards

were non-predatory and led to minor injuries. Unfortunately, the attacks were 60% of the time on lower-economic strata families who spend a big portion of their time outdoors for sustenance (fodder grass collection, grazing livestock, firewood collection, walking to town centres). The recovery potential of such families nancially is also limited. There is room for better supporting such families that face conflict in this landscape,” said Ms. Shweta.