According to the report “Status of Leopards in India” released by Union Minister Bhupender Yadav, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC), estimated that the leopards population in India has risen by 8% from 12,852 in 2018 to 13,874 in 2022.
- The leopard population increased at an annual growth rate of 1.08% from 2018 to 2022.
About the report:
i.The fifth cycle leopard population estimation (2022) was carried out by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) and Wildlife Institute of India(WII), in collaboration with State Forest Departments.
ii.The report was part of the quadrennial(four-year) “Monitoring of Tiger, Co-predators, prey and their habitat” exercise in tiger range States.
iii.The report covers forested habitats within 18 tiger states, grouped into four major tiger conservation landscapes.
iv.The four regions are Shivalik Hills &Gangetic Plains, Central India & Eastern Ghats, Western Ghats, and North Eastern Hills, and Brahmaputra Floodplains.
v.The report represents 70 percent of the country’s leopard habitat, excluding the Himalayas, semi-arid regions, and non-forested habitats that were not sampled.
Key Findings:
State-wise comparison:
i.Madhya Pradesh has 3907 leopards, the highest number of leopards in India, followed by Maharashtra (1985) and Karnataka (1,879) in the second and third, respectively.
ii.Madhya Pradesh reported the most improvement in the number of leopards at 486 (3,421 in 2018 to 3,907 in 2022), while Odisha reported a drop of 192 (760 in 2018 to 568 in 2022).
iii.In terms of percentage, Arunachal Pradesh reported a 282% increase (11 in 2018 to 42 in 2022), while Uttarakhand reported a 22% decline (839 in 2018 to 652 in 2022) in the leopard population, reportedly due to poaching and man-animal conflict.
iv.Tiger Reserves or sites having the highest leopard population are Nagarajunasagar Srisailam (Andhra Pradesh), followed by Panna (Madhya Pradesh), and Satpura (Madhya Pradesh).
Region-wise comparison:
i.In Western Ghats, the leopard population increased from 3,387 in 2018 to 3,596 in 2020.
ii.In the northeastern hills and the Brahmaputra floodplains, it has risen to 349 from 141.
iii.In the Shivalik Hills and the Gangetic Plains, it decreased to 1,109 from 1,253.
No of Leopards in 18 States:
| State | Population in 2018 | Population in 2022 |
|---|---|---|
| Bihar | 98 | 86 |
| Uttarakhand | 839 | 652 |
| Uttar Pradesh | 316 | 371 |
| Shivalik Hills & Gangetic Plains | 1,253 | 1,109 |
| Andhra Pradesh | 492 | 569 |
| Telangana | 334 | 297 |
| Chhattisgarh | 852 | 722 |
| Jharkhand | 46 | 51 |
| Madhya Pradesh | 3,421 | 3,907 |
| Maharashtra | 1,690 | 1,985 |
| Odisha | 760 | 568 |
| Rajasthan | 476 | 721 |
| Central India & Eastern Ghats | 8071 | 8,820 |
| Goa | 86 | 77 |
| Karnataka | 1,783 | 1,879 |
| Kerala | 650 | 570 |
| Tamil Nadu | 868 | 1,070 |
| Western Ghats | 3387 | 3,596 |
| Arunachal Pradesh | 11 | 42 |
| Assam | 47 | 74 |
| North Bengal | 83 | 233 |
| North Eastern Hills, and Brahmaputra Floodplains | 141 | 349 |
| Total | 12,852 | 13,874 |
Conservation Status of Leopard:
The Indian leopard (Panthera pardus fusca) is listed in Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, and it was classified as “Vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)Red List.
Recent Related News:
Union Minister of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change (MoEFCC), Shri Bhupender Yadav released the report on the Status of Snow leopards in India during the National Board for Wildlife meeting held in New Delhi, Delhi. The exercise conducted from 2019 to 2023, reported 718 snow leopards in India.Snow Leopard Population Assessment in India (SPAI) Program is the first-ever scientific exercise that reports Snow leopard population of 718 individuals in India.
About Wildlife Institute of India (WII):
WII is an Autonomous Institution of the MoEFCC.
Chairman – Ms Leena Nandan (Secretary of Environment, Forest and Climate Change)
Location – Dehradun, Uttarakhand
Established In – 1982
