Forest dept trials nylon net to stop leopard intrusions

Alipurduar: In a shift from traditional trapping methods, the Forest department has introduced Sunderbans-style nylon-net fencing in North Bengal to prevent leopards from straying into human settlements and tea gardens. The pilot installation, a 220-metre stretch of specially reinforced nylon netting, has been set up in the Kolabari Tea Garden of Nagrakata.

Standing 5 feet high, this is the first such deployment in the region, modeled after the successful tiger-proof fencing used in inhabited zones of the Sundarbans. Officials say that if the initiative yields positive results, similar nets will be installed across other forest-adjacent villages and tea estates in North Bengal. The move follows a series of leopard incidents in Kolabari. On 28 July, a minor boy was killed and another person injured, after leopards that had taken shelter in nearby brinjal fields repeatedly strayed into the area. In the past five months, forest teams captured five leopards using cages baited with goats, but preventing new intrusions became increasingly difficult.

Forest officials say the nylon-net method offers multiple advantages. It is significantly more cost-effective than other types of fencing—the entire 220-metre barrier cost just Rs 50,000—and helps reduce the growing number of captured leopards being sent to already crowded rehabilitation centres.

Bhaskar JV, Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife), North Bengal, said: “After assessing the success of nylon-net fencing in the Sundarbans to prevent tigers from entering human settlements, we have introduced it for the first time in North Bengal in a specific zone of Kolabari. If the project proves effective, we plan to expand the use of this fencing to more forest-adjacent villages and tea gardens.”

With human–animal conflict rising in the region, authorities are hoping this low-cost, non-intrusive barrier will emerge as a long-term solution.