Context: South India’s first and the country’s largest leopard safari was inaugurated by Karnataka Environment Minister at the Bannerghatta Biological Park.
Indian Leopard
- Indian leopard is a leopard subspecies widely distributed on the Indian subcontinent.
- A leopard does not have any stripes.
- It has spots peppered on its body.
- A leopard can kill for the pleasure of killing by pouncing continuously on its prey.
- The species Panthera pardus is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List
- Leopards have survived outside protected areas in many parts of India since historical times.
Status of Leopards India report
- India’s leopard numbers rose by 8% from 12,852 in 2018 to 13,874 in 2022.
- Highest number of leopards were reported in Madhya Pradesh (3,907).
- Three other States reported over 1,000 animals each — Maharashtra (1,985), Karnataka (1,879) and Tamil Nadu (1,070).
- Uttarakhand reported a 22% decline in the Leopard Population.
- Odisha has witnessed a sharp decline in its leopard population — approximately one-fourth lost — primarily due to poaching between 2018 and 2022.
- Leopard densities from both the tiger reserves (Similipal and Satkosia tiger reserves) in the State have increased significantly.
- Shivalik hills and Gangetic plains recorded a 3.4% yearly decline.
- Central India and Eastern Ghats, Western Ghats and hills of the northeast, and Brahmaputra flood plains recorded growth of 1.5%, 1%, and 1.3% per annum respectively.
- About 65% of leopard population is present outside protected areas in Shivalik landscape.
- In Uttar Pradesh, both leopard and tiger numbers have increased.
Causes for Decline
- According to the report, the biggest threats to the dwindling leopard population are poaching of prey for bush meat, targeted poaching for tiger and leopard skins and body parts.
- Habitat loss due to mining and other human activities.
- Road accidents are also a significant cause of leopard fatalities.
Bannerghatta Biological Park
- Bannerghatta Biological Park, also known as the Bannerghatta Zoo, is a zoological garden located in the city of Bengaluru.
- It was initially a small zoo and picnic corner within Bannerghatta National Park (BNP) which was started in 1974.
- The bifurcation of the Biological Park and the National Park took place in 2002.
- The Bannerghatta Biological Park covers a total area of 731.88 hectares and includes a zoo, safari park, butterfly park and rescue centre
Safari in Bannerghatta Biological Park
- Following the guidelines of the Central Zoo Authority (CZA), visitors can view big cats spread over an area of 20 hectare with a 6.5-metre-high chain link net to ensure their safety.
- As per guidelines given by the CZA, we have ensured that only hand-reared and zoo-born leopards are part of the safari