INDIA RECORDS MASSIVE INCREASE IN LEOPARD POPULATION

Abhishek Raj

Union Environment Minister, Prakash Javadekar recently released a report titled ‘Status of Leopard in India, 2018’. He elaborated upon the report and further stated that -

“ An increase in the population of tigers, Asiatic lions, and now leopards shows how India is protecting its environment, ecology, and biodiversity.”

In 2014, leopards in India numbered around 8,000. In 2018, it was estimated to have increased to 12,852. The largest number of leopards were found in the state of Madhya Pradesh, numbering 3,421 ,then second-largest in Karnataka at 1,783 and followed by Maharashtra in third at 1,690.

The leopard population in India has risen by 60% since 2014.

Despite all the efforts made by the Indian Government for the welfare of leopards, there are several areas in the country where the leopards are still facing major threats. The factors include the change in agriculture pattern and increase of infrastructure projects. Besides these, poaching and human-wildlife conflict are also a major threat endangering the leopard population.

Leopard population was also seen within forest habitats in tiger occupied states and also due to some other instances too it is speculated that actual number of leopards could be higher than what is estimated in the report.

Therefore, overall there is a greater increase in the population of leopards in India. In 4 years though the increase has varied across the geography.

[Abhishek Raj is a first-year law student at the National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata.]