Odisha Home To 696 Leopards; Rare Black Panthers Also Found In Forest Dept’s 1st Census

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government has released its first-ever leopard census report which revealed that 696 leopards are currently present in the state.

The independent count conducted by the state’s Forest department.

According to the census report, Odisha is home to total 696 leopards, an increase of 128 than the numbers mentioned in a report published by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA).

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. “During the leopard estimation, we have found the presence of black panthers in three forest divisions of the state in western and central Odisha. Since the black panther is a rare species, we are not revealing where they have been spotted as there are chances of poachers targeting them,” a senior official told Express.