India's leopard population increased in 4 years since 2014: Javadekar
Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar on Monday released the Status of Leopards in India 2018 report which states India's leopard population increased from 8,000 to over 12,500 between 2014 and 2018. Javadekar asserted this rise in numbers, following similar reports on tigers and lions, shows the country is protecting its ecology and biodiversity. Their population was estimated using the camera trapping method.
Maximum number of big cats found in MP
Javadekar said, "More than 60 percent increase in their population has been recorded. There were 8,000 leopards in 2014. The increase in the population of tigers, Asiatic lions, and now leopards, shows how India is protecting its environment, ecology, and biodiversity." The report shows the maximum number of big cats (3,421) were found in Madhya Pradesh, followed by Karnataka (1,783) and Maharashtra (1,690).
Javadekar congratulated the three states with the highest leopard population
What else does the report say?
A total of 5,240 adult leopards were identified from a total of 51,337 leopard photographs using pattern recognition software. The report also informed that the leopards were estimated across forested habitats in the tiger range areas of the country, but other leopard occupied areas were not sampled. Therefore, the population estimation is considered as a minimum number of leopards in each of the landscapes.
PM Narendra Modi also appreciated the work being done
A breakdown of the Leopard population
The highest number of 8,071 leopards were found in central India and eastern ghats, including the states of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh. In the Western Ghat region (Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Goa, and Kerala) there are 3,387 leopards, and the Shivalik and Gangetic Plains (Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Bihar) have 1,253 leopards. The northeast hills have just 141 leopards.
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