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03/03/24 18:05 PM IST

2022 Status of Leopards in India

In News
  • There are an estimated 13,874 leopards in India, up from 12,852 in 2018, according to the ‘Status of Leopards in India, 2022’ report, released by the Union Environment Ministry.
Indian Leopards
  • Indian leopards (Panthera pardus fusca) are distributed across a variety of forested habitats in India, Nepal, Bhutan, and parts of Pakistan.
  • Being apex predators, they sit at the top of the food chain, and thus play a crucial role in maintaining a balanced ecosystem.
  • Like lions (Panthera leo), leopards came to India from the west, most likely Ethiopia
Major findings
  • According to the recently released report, Central India and Eastern Ghats has the highest population of leopards (8,820), followed by the Western Ghats (3,596), and the Shivalik Hills and Gangetic Plains (1,109).
  • Statewise, Madhya Pradesh boasts of the largest population of leopards (3,907), followed by Maharashtra (1,985), Karnataka (1,879) and Tamil Nadu (1,070).
  • The report showed that the Shivalik Hills and Gangetic Plains recorded a worrying 3.4% per annum decline, going down from 1,253 in 2018 to 1,109 in 2022.
  • Several states too reported a decline in leopard population.
  • In Odisha the number of leopards dropped from 760 in 2018 to 562 in 2022, and in Uttarakhand, the population declined from 839 in 2018 to 652 in 2022. Kerala, Telangana, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, and Goa too reported population declines.
Factors behind decline
  • One factor behind this can be the increase in tiger populations.
  • Other factors include a number of external threats, such as poaching and habitat loss. Road accidents are also a significant cause of leopard fatalities.
Leopard-Human conflict
  • Leopards’ adaptability in terms of habitat and dietary preferences help them to thrive in agro-pastoral areas, plantations, and near human settlements.
  • This, however, has led to increasing leopard-human conflict.
  • According to the report, in the Shivalik region, roughly 65% of the leopard population is present outside protected areas.
  • The Uttarakhand Forest Department said that 30% of all wildlife-caused human deaths and injury cases were due to leopards (570 of nearly 2,000 cases from the last five years).
  • A 2023 report states that Maharashtra has emerged as the worst-affected state, reporting 113 fatal attacks in the last seven years, while Karnataka reported over 100 human-leopard encounters.
  • This escalation can largely be attributed to habitat loss, due to mining and other human activities.
  • In Kerala, from 2013 to 2019, there were a total 547 reported incidents of human-leopard conflict, including 173 livestock deaths or injuries (93 cattle, 2 buffalo, 78 goats)
Source- Indian Express

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