HYDERABAD: The population of the second biggest cat in Telangana, the leopard, fell between 2018 and 2022, from an estimated 334 leopards in 2018 to 297 in 2022, according to the Leopard Status Report 2022 released by the National Tiger Conservation Authority on Thursday.
While the spotted cat appears to have had a bad four years in Telangana, in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, its number went up from an estimated 492 in 2018 to 569 in 2022, the report said.
Of the leopards in Telangana state, 121 were found in the Amrabad tiger reserve, while a total of 173 leopards were estimated to be utilising the tiger reserve for moving in and out of its boundaries from areas outside of the protected forests of the reserve.
In the case of Kawal tiger reserve, which, according to the last tiger census, did not record even a single tiger, the report said 19 leopards were found within the reserve while 25 were found to be using the reserve.
In Andhra Pradesh, as many as 270 were found in the Nagarjunasagar-Srisailam Tiger Reserve, with another 90 estimated to be using the reserve.
The rest of the leopards from the two states are from other parts and forests of the two states, including unprotected scrub forests, the report stated.
Asked about the fall in leopard numbers in Telangana, a senior state forest department official said the actual reasons can only be arrived at after going through the report and studying the methodology adopted to estimate the leopard numbers.
However, it may be recalled that Telangana had been reporting leopard deaths with some regularity, many times in hit-and-run accidents, with the latest one reported recently in Kamareddy district, or due to other reasons, which the department has not made clear so far, as was the case with two leopards which died since this January, one in Ranga Reddy district, another one in Narayanpet district.
The report said effective patrolling and law enforcement are particularly critical for the conservation of leopards in Telangana. It said while leopards were found to have occupied new areas in northern Telangana, their occupancy has declined from Kinnerasani wildlife sanctuary.
