Bengaluru, Sep 28: There are nearly 2,500 leopards in Karnataka as per the first-ever scientific estimation of leopards in the country.
The study was done in Cauvery, MM Hills, BRT and Timalapura wildlife sanctuaries, Jayamangali Conservation Reserve and various areas in Tumakuru, Ramanagara, Mysuru, Bengaluru Urban and Rural, Bhadravati, Ballari and Chitradurga divisions.
Led by conservation biologist Sanjay Gubbi, and a team from Nature Conservation Foundation, the study was in vogue since 2012 in collaboration with the Karnataka Forest Department.
The team has presented to the forest department a documentation of 363 leopards. Based on the figures derived using camera trapping, it has been estimated that there are a total of 2,500 leopards in the State.
It said through a sampling-based camera trap exercise, individual leopards were identified using the rosette patterns on their bodies that are unique to each animal.
Individual leopards were identified using the rosette patterns on their body which are unique to each individual leopard. Later, using statistical methodologies, researchers estimated both density and abundance.
Based on these results, a few regions having high density population of leopards are likely to be notified as wildlife sanctuaries. They include Bhadravati division (Kukwadi-Ubrani, Hadikere, Hanne, Rangainagiri and others) and Bukkapatna (Bukkapatna, Muttugadahalli, Suvarnavathi, and other areas) in Tumakuru division.
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This has been an important achievement of the study in addition to this first-ever work on leopards in the state. This is one of the most comprehensive studies on leopards in the country that combines science, applied conservation, and outreach.