Madhya Pradesh has the highest number of leopards in India, cementing its position as the country's premier big cat state since it also tops the list for tigers.
The number of leopards in MP jumped from 3,421 in 2018 to 3,907, as per a report released in New Delhi on Thursday by Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav.
As per the report, MP is followed by Maharashtra (1,985), Karnataka (1,879) and Tamil Nadu (1,070). Tiger reserves or places with the highest leopard population are Nagarjuna Sagar in Srisailam in Andhra Pradesh followed by Panna and Satpura in Madhya Pradesh, as per the report.
The leopard population estimation in the fifth cycle is being done by the National Tiger Conservation Authority and the Wildlife Institute of India in collaboration with state forest departments.
The effort was undertaken as a part of the four-year 'Monitoring of Tigers, Predators, Prey and Monitoring of their Habitat', which has given impetus to tiger conservation efforts. The fifth cycle of leopard population estimation in India (2022) focuses on forest habitats within 18 tiger states, including four major tiger conservation scenarios, an official said.
Amid damage to their natural habitat, human-wildlife conflict and poaching, the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) conducted the fifth cycle of leopard population assessments to obtain information about the status and trends of these elusive big cats, the official said.
Covering tiger range states and diverse landscapes, the comprehensive survey used robust scientific methodologies using technology to assess leopard abundance, the official said.
Through a careful process of camera trapping, habitat analysis and population combination, important insights into leopard taxonomy and conservation challenges were revealed, he added.
MP Forest Minister Nagar Singh Chouhan congratulated his department staffers and those associated with wildlife conservation and management for the achievement.
