Rajasthan

• 11 Dec 2024

Leopard Strays Into Residential Colony in Jaipur

Why in News? 

Recently, Panic spread in the Vidhyadhar Nagar area after a leopard strayed into a residential colony and attacked three people. The wildcat was later tranquillised and rescued by a forest department team. 

Key Points 

• About Leopards: 
  • Its scientific name is Panthera pardus. 
  • The leopard is the smallest of the Big Cats of genus Panthera namely the Tiger, Lion, Jaguar, Leopard, and Snow Leopard. It known for its ability to adapt in a variety of habitats. 
  • A nocturnal animal, the leopard hunts at night. 
  • It feeds on smaller species of herbivores found in its range, such as the chital, hog deer and wild boar. 
  • Melanism is a common occurrence in leopards, wherein the entire skin of the animal is black in colour, including its spots. 
    • A melanistic leopard is often called black panther and mistakenly thought to be a different species. 
• Habitat: 
  • It occurs in a wide range in sub-Saharan Africa, in small parts of Western and Central Asia, on the Indian subcontinent to Southeast and East Asia. 
  • The Indian leopard (Panthera pardus fusca) is a leopard widely distributed on the Indian subcontinent. 
• Population in India: 
  • As per a recent report ‘Status of leopards in India, 2018’ released by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, there has been a “60% increase in the population count of leopards in India from 2014 estimates’’. 
  • The 2014 estimates placed the population of leopards at nearly 8,000 which has increased to 12,852. 
  • The largest number of leopards have been estimated in Madhya Pradesh (3,421) followed by Karnataka (1,783) and Maharashtra (1,690). 
• Threats: 
  • Poaching for the illegal trade of skins and body parts. 
  • Habitat loss and fragmentation 
  • Human-Leopard conflict 
• Conservation Status: 
  • IUCN Red List: Vulnerable 
  • CITES: Appendix-I 
  • Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972: Schedule-I