Q. Which Indian region has experienced the steepest decline in leopard numbers according to the survey 2022?
(a) Central India
(b) Eastern Ghats
(c) Shivalik-Gangetic plains
(d) All above
Answer: (c) Shivalik-Gangetic plains
Key Findings:
- India’s leopard population is estimated at 13,874 (range: 12,616 – 15,132).
- This indicates a stable population compared to 2018 estimates of 12,852 leopards.
- Madhya Pradesh has the highest leopard population with 3,907 individuals followed by Maharashtra (1,985) and Karnataka (1,879).
- Protected areas and tiger reserves like Nagarjunsagar Srisailam Tiger Reserve (Andhra Pradesh), Panna Tiger Reserve (Madhya Pradesh) and Satpura Tiger Reserve (Madhya Pradesh) support high densities of leopards.
- Central India shows a stable or slightly increasing trend. Shivalik-Gangetic plains has seen a 3.4% annual decline between 2018 and 2022.
- The current leopard census indicates an overall stable population at the national level since 2018. Region-wise, Central India and Eastern Ghats show a modest annual growth rate of 1.5%.
However, the Shivalik-Gangetic landscape has suffered a 3.4% annual decline in leopard numbers.If we consider the specific areas sampled in both 2018 and 2022, a marginal growth rate of 1.08% is noticed. But this doesn’t account for the approximately 30% of leopard habitats not surveyed including arid regions, higher Himalayas and non-forest areas.
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