Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government has released its first-ever leopard census report which revealed that 696 leopards are currently present in the state. This independent count was conducted by the state’s Forest department.
As per the report published by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) in February 2022, as many as 568 leopards were found in Odisha that year. In 2018, the population of leopards in the state stood at 760.
Noting that these numbers were not backed by substance, the state Forest Department decided to undertake its own leopard census.
Camera traps were used during the recent leopard census. As many as 284 cameras were strategically placed at various forest areas and the census was undertaken by analysing photographs, pugmarks, and other tracking methods.
Forest Department leopard census offers crucial insights on the population of the big cats in the state and is expected to guide future conservation efforts.