Bhubaneswar: A report on Status of Leopards in India had been released on Thursday, according to which there has been a considerable decline in leopard population in Odisha. The Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Bhupender Yadav released the report on Status of Leopards in India, on February 29, 2024 at New Delhi.
In the report it has been mentioned that as many as 192 leopards are missing from the state of Odisha. In Odisha, the number of tigers has decreased significantly. Currently, there are only 568 leopards in the state whereas earlier there were as many as 760.
Leopard presence was not recorded from Nayagarh and Gumsur forest divisions in this cycle of countrywide monitoring. Leopard distribution is now majorly concentrated in the Similipal and Satkosia Tiger Reserves, Hirakund, Kotagarh Khalasuni Wildlife Sanctuaries.
Camera trapping at total of three sites in Odisha yielded images of 162 unique leopard individuals. However it is a matter of concern, that the leopard densities from both the Tiger Reserves have increased significantly. This indicates the major efforts of recovery is restricted to Tiger Reserve.
The report further specified that, the state should also put efforts of effective patrolling, prey recovery and habitat management outside Tiger Reserve since major population of leopard (55%) are outside the Protected Area network.
The leopard population estimation was carried out by the National Tiger Conservation Authority and Wildlife Institute of India, in collaboration with State Forest Departments, as part of the quadrennial “Monitoring of Tiger, Co-predators, prey and their habitat” exercise in tiger range States.
Ms Kalinga