India has 13,874 leopards, with the heart of the country — Madhya Pradesh — having the largest number of its third-biggest felid, a landmark report released by the Centre on February 29, 2024 showed. The pan-India population of the Indian leopard (Panthera pardus fusca) was estimated at 13,874 (Range: 12,616–15,132) …
FEAR stalks people in Chanda Bhudaria village in Uttarakhand's Udham Singh Nagar district. A tigress attacked Jagannath Singh, when he went to defecate on the dusk of January 15, 2007. Jaggannath, who is 65 and infirm, was using the field next to his home, adjacent to the village road. Ten …
The present report forms a part of the All India Tiger Monitoring exercise undertaken on the direction of the Ministry of Environment and Forests by the Wildlife Institute of India in association with National Tiger Conservation Authority, and the State Forest Departments. As a part of this process, preliminary findings …
Human-leopard conflict is a complex issue influenced by political and social attitudes, the biology of the species, and management action. Effective management of conflict will have to strike a balance between minimizing serious conflict (attacks on people) and the long-term conservation of the leopard species. Although the leopard is commoner …
In the past decade, many Indian states have reported an increase in leopard (Panthera pardus fusca) populations outside forests, in certain areas, accompanied by a large number of attacks on people. This high density was attributed to declining natural habitats and prey species, and the increased survival of leopards in …
Tracking the snow leopard: The life and habits of the elusive snow leopard will no longer be a mystery. For the first time, a team has fitted a snow leopard with a global positioning system (GPS) collar to track its movements. The 35 kg female was captured on the Purdum …
A raging debate continues between social and wildlife scientists in India on the relocation of people from parks to decrease conflicting interests of wildlife conservation and the local people. The goal of such relocations is to enhance the conservation of threatened species like the tiger. Another facet of the same …
The illegal trade in poached skins between India, Nepal and China is the most significant immediate threat to the continued existence of the tiger in the wild. While the importance of the problem has been recognized and plenty of information is already available, the lucrative illegal trade continues.
Rajaji-Corbett Tiger Conservation Unit (RCTCU) in north-west India, is one of the eleven Level I Tiger Conservation Units (TCU) identified in the Indian subcontinent for the long term conservation of the tiger. Between November 1999 and March 2000, we evaluated the status of tiger and leopard by counting the number …
Man eating by leopards has been a major problem in some hilly districts of Uttaranchal particularly since early nineties. This has been a matter of serious concern for Forest Department, politicians, conservationists, scientists and the local people. Wildlife Institute of India has been working on a project to study this …
Wildlife research can be categorised as those that are purely academic and others which have implications for management. A good example of the latter is the survey, conducted nearly a decade ago, by wildlife scientists to find an alternative home for the Asiatic lion. The site chosen was Palpur Kuno …
A leopard that attacked three persons in a south Delhi neighbourhood was fatally wounded while being captured. Experts state categorically that, but for trigger-happy cops, the big cat would have survived the ordeal. The leopard was first spotted in a furniture factory, where it hid in the generator room after …
do they train Indian foresters to mess up wildlife situations? It is difficult to ascribe the series of botch-ups involving leopards in the last month or so to misfortune. The most recent one was the highly publicised spectacle of a leopard killed by police and wildlife officials after it entered …
Most protected areas in Bhutan are threatened. A major risk is being posed by poaching and fire. The poachers mainly prey on musk deer, blood pheasant and black bear. Musk pod, musk skin, bear bile, rhino horn and snow leopard skin have huge markets in Nepal and India, states a …
• Elephant deaths are being frequently reported from many parts of the country. Recently, an elephant carcass was discovered in Jharkhand's Palamau Tiger Reserve and two elephants, including a cub, were found dead in the Rajaji and Badapur parks of Uttaranchal. The death of a female elephant was also reported …
as part of Wildlife Week, Peter Jackson, chairperson of the Cat Specialist Group of the The World Conservation Union (iucn) expressed anguish that in spite of efforts by wildlife officials and conservationists, intense poaching of wild cats continue unabated. It is believed that only 100 species survive in Iran and …
Models of Plio-Pleistocene hominid behavioral ecology often emphasize competition with large carnivores. This paper describes competition between modern humans and large carnivores in rural Uganda, including active, confrontational scavenging of carnivore kills by humans and carnivore attacks on humans. Information gathered from Ugandan Game Department archives (1923
JODHPUR district in Rajasthan, which recently captured headlines for being the place where the cinestar Salman Khan was arrested for killing a blackbuck, is all set to become famous for wildlife conservation. The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) will be developing a cheetah breeding facility at the Machiya Nature …
Alexis, last of the four cheetah's brought from Great Britain five years ago, died due to gross negligence in mid-January in the Delhi Zoo. This brings to focus the dismal state of veterinary services in Indian zoos. Alexis' death followed soon after its mate, Charlie, died the same month. Experts …
The sorry state of India's animal care services was highlighted when a cub of the elusive and highly endangered snow leopard that died because of a lack of medical facilities in its natural habitat. The cub was brought from Ladakh, its natural home, to Chhatbir in the plains for treatment, …
