• Fencing around cattle farm, emergency siren system, CCTV cam surveillance, wider buffer zone

Peradeniya University authorities said that leopards entering the University from the adjoining Hantana Forest Reserve could not simply be captured or removed as they are in their natural habitat, adding that several measures have been introduced to improve safety on the Campus following the recent death of a calf.

Speaking to The Daily Morning, the Public Relations Officer of the University, M. Abeywickrama said yesterday (3) that the Vice Chancellor and the University administration had informed the Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC) in writing after a leopard killed a calf at the University's farm on 30 July. "The Department told us that the area is the leopard's natural habitat. The University borders the Reserve, which extends towards Nuwara Eliya and Maskeliya. Since this is the leopard's natural habitat, they said that leopards can’t simply be captured or removed," he said. Abeywickrama said that the University had begun the procurement process to install fencing around the cattle farm to prevent similar incidents. Abeywickrama explained further that the University is also installing an emergency siren system that is triggered when an animal enters the area. The system had already been installed on one side of the farm, but not on the side from which the leopard had entered. 

Fielding further questions as to whether leopard sightings had become a recurring problem, Abeywickrama said that a similar incident had occurred about six months ago, but stressed that there had been no threat to students.  He explained that experts from the Veterinary Medicine Faculty and the DWC had advised that leopards generally prey on animals smaller than themselves. However, he said that students had been advised not to walk alone at night or during the early morning as a precaution. He added that the University is expanding its closed circuit television (CCTV) camera surveillance and had previously cleared a strip of vegetation between the Forest and the farm to create a wider buffer zone.

However, attempts made to contact the Director General of the DWC, Ranjan Marasinghe for comment on the issue proved futile.