India’s Leopard Population Rises Over 60% Since 2014

• 22 Dec 2020

• ‘Status of Leopard in India 2018’ – a recent release by the Union Environment Ministry shows that India’s leopard population has increased to 12,852 (more than 60% increase in population) over the previous estimate (about 8000) which was conducted in 2014.
• The Indian leopard is listed as ‘Vulnerable’ on the IUCN Red List.

States with Higher Leopard Population

• Largest numbers of Leopards were found in Madhya Pradesh at 3,421, followed by Karnataka at 1,783 and Maharashtra at 1,690.

Regional Distribution

• Central India/Eastern Ghats: The highest number of 8,071 leopards were found in central India and the Eastern Ghats, which include the states of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
• Western Ghats: In the Western Ghats region, comprising of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Goa and Kerala, there are 3,387 leopards.
• Shivalik and Gangetic Plains: There are 1,253 leopards in Shivalik and Gangetic Plains which includes Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Bihar.
• North East Hills:In the North East hills, 141 leopards were found.