NEW DELHI: Leopard population in the country has increased by 1,022 (nearly 8%) in four years – from 12,852 in 2018 to 13,874 in 2022, shows the latest assessment report released on Thursday. The number of big cats has, however, declined in certain states such as Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, Kerala, Odisha and Telangana.
The actual number may be a bit higher as the estimates represent a population of 70% of leopard habitat as the Himalayas and semi-arid parts of the country, which are not tiger habitat, were not sampled during the exercise.
Calling rise in leopard population “great news”, Prime Minister Modi in his post on X said, “This significant increase in leopard numbers is a testament to India’s unwavering dedication to biodiversity.”
This assessment cycle (5th) conducted a foot survey spanning 6,41,449 km to estimate carnivore signs and prey abundance. Camera traps were strategically placed at 32,803 locations, resulting in a total of 4,70,81,881 photographs that captured 85,488 photos of leopards.
Applauding the results, environment minister Bhupender Yadav said it showed that the Project Tiger’s conservation legacy expanded beyond tigers, showcasing broader species protection efforts. “The report emphasizes conservation commitment beyond protected areas, lauding the forest department’s dedicated efforts. Project Tiger’s inclusive approach underscores ecosystem inter-connectedness and diverse species conservation,” said Yadav after releasing the report.
Asked why only 70% of the leopard habitat was surveyed during the assessment, wildlife expert from WWF-India, Pranav Chanchani, said, “The leopard assessment is not a stand-alone wildlife monitoring exercise. In a sense, these data are a by-product of the govt-led monitoring of tigers in India – so the data for the leopard report largely comes from areas that were covered for the national tiger monitoring.”
Chanchani, lead-species at WWF-India, said, “Leopards are an adaptable species and also occupy secondary forests and other areas that cannot be easily monitored, at scale.”
State-wise, Madhya Pradesh houses the largest population (3907) of leopards in the country followed by Maharashtra (1985), Karnataka (1,879), Tamil Nadu (1,070) and Chhattisgarh (722). Uttarakhand, on the other hand, reported the highest decline – from 839 in 2018 to 652 in 2022.
Region-wise, central India shows a stable or slightly growing population of leopards (from 8071 in 2018 to 8820 in 2022) whereas Shivalik hills and Gangetic plains experienced a decline (1253 in 2018 to 1109 in 2022).
Though the leopard population shows an annual growth of 1% if we look at the area which was sampled both in 2018 and 2022, it reported a decline of 3.4% per annum in Shivalik hills and Gangetic plains. On the other hand, central India and Eastern Ghats recorded the highest annual growth of 1.5%.
