Good News For Odisha As Centre Releases Leopard Count Report

New Delhi: India now has 12,852 leopards. An increase of more than 60 per cent in the Big Cat’s population has been recorded over the previous estimate which was conducted in 2014.

Releasing the ‘Status of Leopards in India 2018′ report on Monday, Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar said the leopard population has been estimated using three-step process, including camera trap method.

As per the report, the maximum big cats were found in Madhya Pradesh at 3,421, followed by Karnataka at 1,783 and Maharashtra 1,690.

As for region wise distribution, the highest number of 8,071 leopards were found in central India and eastern ghats, which include the states of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

In the western ghat region, which comprises Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Goa and Kerala, there are 3,387 leopards while there are 1,253 leopards in Shivalik and Gangetic Plains which includes Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Bihar.

In the northeast hills, there are just 141 leopards.

“There were 8,000 leopards in 2014. Increase in the population of tigers, Asiatic lions and now leopards, shows how India is protecting its environment, ecology and biodiversity,” he said.