New Delhi (NVI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi today expressed happiness over the increasing population of leopards in India, which improved to 12,852 in past four years.
PM Modi also congratulated all those who are working towards animal conservation in India, following the release of the “Status of Leopard in India” report.
Taking to Twitter, the Prime Minister wrote, “Great news! After lions and tigers, the leopard population increases. Congratulations to all those who are working towards animal conservation. We have to keep up these efforts.”
Great news!
After lions ? and tigers ?, the leopard ? population increases.
Congratulations to all those who are working towards animal conservation. We have to keep up these efforts and ensure our animals live in safe habitats. https://t.co/gN0g8SBsF8
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) December 22, 2020
This comes after the Union Minister Prakash Javadekar released the “Status of Leopard in India 2018” report on Monday.
Javadekar also took to Twitter in this regard and wrote, “India now has 12,852 leopards. More than 60 per cent increase in population has been recorded over the previous estimate which was conducted in 2014.”
He released the report and said the increase in tiger, lion and leopard numbers over the last few years is a testimony to the conservation efforts and of the fledgling wildlife and biodiversity of the country, the Ministry of Environment said in a release.
According to the data, India’s world record tiger survey also estimated the population of leopards and the tiger range was found home to 12,852 leopards. They occur in prey rich protected areas as well as multi-use forests.
A total of 5,240 adult individual leopards were identified in a total of 51,337 leopard photographs using pattern recognition software. The statistical analysis estimates the leopard population at 12,800 leopards within the tiger’s range.
Notably, the states of Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, and Maharashtra recorded the highest leopard estimates at 3,421, 1,783 and 1,690 respectively, the release added.
-RJV
