It is not just India’s gross domestic product that has seen a remarkable recovery in recent months, posting growth of 8.4 per cent in the third quarter of financial year 2023-24. The country’s declining leopard population has also seen an upward trajectory of a just-as-impressive 8 per cent. According to a recent report released by the Union ministry of environment, forests and climate change, India is now home to 13,874 leopards. Back in 2018, the country housed 12,852 of the big cats.
Madhya Pradesh leads with 3,907 leopards. While Maharashtra has 1,985, Karnataka has 1,879 and Tamil Nadu is fourth with 1,070. However, not all states are able to boast of rising numbers. The Himalayan state of Uttarakhand in North India, home to the Jim Corbett National Park, saw a fall of 22 per cent in the number of leopards recorded.
A survey was conducted in 20 Indian states. It aimed at an in-depth look at the country’s tiger reserves along with protected forest areas. While tigers mostly reside in forest reserves, leopards venture out into nearby villages and even into towns and cities. Leopards have often been sighted in Bombay and Thane, cities bordering the Sanjay Gandhi National Park. The higher mortality rate of leopards is due to poaching and conflict with humans.
Speaking to The Hindu newspaper, Qamar Qureshi of the Wildlife Institute of India said, “About a third of the leopards are within protected areas. When we conserve tiger reserves, we also conserve leopard habitat.” Qureshi is one of the co-authors of the report.
In order to conduct the survey, camera traps were installed at 32,803 locations. The results were a whopping 4,70,81,881 photographs.
States with Highest Leopard Populations
| State | 2022 | 2018 |
|---|---|---|
| Madhya Pradesh | 3,907 | 3,421 |
| Maharashtra | 1,985 | 1,690 |
| Karnataka | 1,879 | 1,783 |
| Tamil Nadu | 1,070 | 868 |
