Kashmir is surrounded by forests. Though with the increase in the forest cover it looks like a pale figure of what it used to be a few decades ago but one must not forget that we are surrounded by woods on all sides. Slowly but steadily we are encroaching upon the forest land demolishing houses of the inmates therein viz. animals, birds and reptiles. Wild animals do not encroach upon our territory but instead we encroach upon their territory day in and day out. We are the colonizers of their world. They make their appearance sometimes letting us know that we are encroaching upon their territory. We destroyed their homes and are tirelessly pursuing deforestation to expand our own “concrete jungle”. Just a few days ago, a leopard was spotted in uptown Srinagar. The locals did the right thing by calling wildlife rescuers, but unfortunately, they were not able to spot the leopard. It has been a trend with a lot of our brothers in the countryside as well in the periphery of city to harm the animal which intrudes in the civilian colonies. The thumb rule is that the animal is not crossing the boundary: Instead we have crossed the line. We are sitting right in its path. In fact almost all the official and unofficial buildings upon Shankaracharya hillock on Gupkar or Boulevard road are on proper urban forest area. So practically the leopard had not crossed the limits of its habitation. We as human beings in our greed to exhibit our power and authority many a times forget that there are other living beings in this world also who like most of us humans also need space to live. In time a wild animal is sighted near our homes we must immediately call either the animal rescuers or the wildlife department. Harming the animal is a criminal offence. More than being a crime, harming an animal is a big moral crime to kill a living being because it accidently was sighted in your village, town or city.
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