A cyclist travelling on a lane in Kaziranga forest’s buffer zone was attacked by a leopard and was saved by sheer luck. He was pedalling aside the forest area and all of a sudden, the leopard came out of the jungle and pounced on him. His cycle dropped and then the leopard instantly steered back to the jungle. The video of the same was shared by IFS Officer Parveen Kaswan. We assume that the leopard too was scared of its life as other vehicles too were present on the roads. But what if the cyclist would be all alone with no one around? Would the leopard still head back leaving him unharmed? This also raises questions about the safety of forest buffer zones.
That cyclist not able to believe on his luck !! @Independent pic.twitter.com/WVbDCMEpX6
— Parveen Kaswan, IFS (@ParveenKaswan) June 15, 2022
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Are Buffer Zones Safe?
A buffer zone is an area adjoining the core forest zone. In the buffer zone, tourism and other activities are allowed without disturbing the natural habitat. Roads passing through these zones often provide stunning sightings of wild creatures. But we have come across news of elephants thrashing people in these zones, tigers pushing tourist gipsies and similar stories. Earlier, an elephant had trampled a man to death in Assam after being irritated by the human crowd. A tiger had also killed a nine-year-old girl in the buffer zone of Madhya Pradesh’s Sanjay Tiger Reserve.
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While venturing into the jungles or roads passing through the jungles is a thrilling experience, the above incidents surely call for some immediate response forces to ensure neither humans nor the animals are harmed.