Leopards
GS PAPER II: Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment.
Context: Three leopards were found dead under suspicious conditions in Belawadi village limits on the outskirts of Mysuru.
Status of leopards in India, 2018
- India’s leopard population increased by 60% in 4 years”, since 2014.
- Status of leopards in India, 2018, mentions that the country has 12,852 leopards.
- Main threats: Habitat loss due to mining and quarrying, poaching for body parts, mortality due to vehicular collisions, retaliatory killing due to human-leopard conflict and accidental deaths due to snares set for catching wild prey.