The diminishing population of leopards serves as a reminder of the delicate balance between nature and human development
By N Shiva Kumar
In the dying daylight, a dazzling delight developed as slanting sunrays lit up the dappled pelt of a female leopard. The golden glow on the leopard’s healthy hide was enhanced as she lay sprawled atop a rocky outcrop surrounded by the lush green jungles of Bandipur National Park in Karnataka. By the time, I positioned and pointed my heavy zoom lens camera towards the animal, it swiftly slithered away into the jungle. A few years ago too in Ranthambore National Park of Rajasthan, just as our gypsy entered Zone-4, a leopard was basking in the warm winter sun, lethargically resting and perfectly camouflaged on a large boulder. This time, I managed to take a few high-speed shots before it detected my presence and vanished into the bushes.
Equipped with a lithe body wired with high tensile ligaments and corresponding flexible muscles, the leopard can leverage its power-coordinated limbs and climb any timber tree without much effort. The smallest of the big cats, it is comparatively cautious, unlike the tiger, and exhibits plenty of stealth and silence making sightings in the wild a rarity. They occur in a wide range of habitats, including plains, deserts, grasslands, wetlands, rocky slopes, mountains and rainforests, but are dramatically declining in numbers due to the loss of conducive habitats.
Living under the shadow of its big brother, the magnificent tiger, leopards are often ignored and neglected in wildlife conservation policies. In Indian jungles, leopards avoid tigers and lions during the day, preferring to hunt at night. Relatively, leopards are smaller in physique than tigers and lions but have powerful neck muscles, immense strength and raw power to carry a 70kg sambar deer or chital deer right up a tall tree. This strategy is to evade tigers, lions, hyenas, dholes (packs of wild dogs), wild bears and other predators eager to grab a free meal. Leopards, being solitary mammals, rarely share their kill-meal with kith and kin, except their young growing cubs.
Wealth of Stealth
Seventeen years ago, while on a jungle journey to Dhikala Forest Rest House, deep inside the thick forests of the Corbett National Park, I was thrilled to witness a leopard in action 20 feet up in the air on a tree, relishing a sambar kill. The forest guide stated that the leopard had been up on the tree for three days devouring the kill, making it one of the rarest sightings atop a tree. Occasionally, it came down for a drink in the Ramganga River, to answer nature’s call or to seek slumber on a thick branch.
Known for its incredible adaptability, the leopard has the largest range of all the big cats, spanning 60 countries across the globe
Leopards use their inherent agility and insane ability to hunt and devour a variety of animals such as sambar deer and spotted deer, nilgai (blue bull) and chinkara antelopes, hares, peacocks and monitor lizards. They kill their prey either with a suffocating bite using large canines to the throat or by breaking the back of the neck with lethal claws and jaws. Small or big prey makes no difference, and this adaptability helps them survive in diverse landscapes avoiding humans.
Indian leopards have a higher hunting success rate than the mighty tiger because of their stalking skills with strong sturdy legs and a long tail for providing body balance when chasing prey. Their broad muzzle, short ears for keen hearing and ocular bulbs for intense eyesight engage with precision. Its coat is less spotted and adorned more with rosettes on a yellowish-brown pelt that merges well with surroundings, and rosettes are unique to each feline. Leopards are not only elusive, solitary and largely nocturnal but are also powerful swimmers. They are very agile and can run at over 58 kph, easily leap over 20 feet horizontally and jump up to 10 feet without exertion.
Fatal Attraction
The Indian leopard, one of nine subspecies of leopards in the world, is found throughout the subcontinent. Although the majority of Indian leopards — about 95% — are confined to India, small populations are found in Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Pakistan.
Only two subspecies, African leopard and Indian leopard, still have viable populations and distribution ranges, while the rest live precariously. Amur Leopard is on the verge of extinction
Today, leopards are threatened by hunting, illegal trade for their skins and other body parts, conflict with local people, rampant poaching and depletion of their natural prey. Increasing agricultural lands, and growing cities and towns have eroded much of the pristine forests where leopards thrive. Road kills are on the rise as we build superfluous highways and roadways in the name of development deep into forest areas where wildlife dwells peacefully. Regular human intrusion has contributed to the ever-increasing human-leopard conflict due to fragmented ecological niches.
Bountiful to Doubtful
Historical hunting records and British Gazetteers reveal that India had a substantial population of leopards before World War II. These dossiers state that approximately 1,50,000 leopards were hunted over 50 years (1875-1925). It is estimated that the leopard population was nearly 1,00,000 around a hundred years ago. However, ithas drastically declined, reaching its lowest level in the 1960s when the renowned naturalist EP Gee estimated that only 6,000-7,000 leopards remained in the Indian jungles as of 1964.
Regarded as vermin, even today leopards are detested in certain rustic locations in the countryside as they grab goats, sheep, poultry and even pet dogs as fast food. Protection and conservation measures, such as establishing a network of protected areas and enacting laws, have contributed to the recovery of the leopard population. However, extensive poaching two decades ago slowed this recovery rate. As poaching declined, the leopard population has consistently increased across all the States since independence.
The leopard population reached its lowest level in the 1960s when the famous naturalist EP Gee estimated that only 6,000 to 7,000 leopards remained in the Indian jungles as of 1964
Dr Ravi Chellam, wildlife biologist and conservation scientist, says: “The majority of the leopard population in India occurs outside protected areas, much of which are human-use areas including sugarcane fields, tea gardens, man-made ravines and also in natural habitats like rocky outcrops and other non-forest areas. This has been corroborated by the Government of India report Status of Leopards in India.” Only 35% of the leopard population is found within designated national parks and wildlife sanctuaries, with the rest counted beyond protected areas’ boundaries.
As prolific breeders, leopards are increasing in numbers but are also being exterminated at a faster rate. Last year, when I visited the last bastion of the Asiatic lions in the Gir National Park in Gujarat, I saw more leopards than lions. Every 30 km, we sighted a leopard wandering about, which is a good sign for the wilderness of the Gir National Park. In my earlier four visits there in the 1990s, I could only view a fleeting glimpse of one leopard covertly treading the dusty ground and very sure of its camouflage.
Countryside Carnivore
The sprawling rock-strewn countryside on the hoary hillocks of Bera and Jawai River in Pali district of Rajasthan is a fascinating example of wildlife conservation without any animal-human conflict. There seems to be an unwritten dictum between venerating villagers and stealthy leopards, a truce that literally says, “You live your life, we live our life, a law without a flaw.”
A study by the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) reiterates the strange behaviour of why leopards live in groups. “The relaxed nature of these animals with human ethos is indeed unique. It’s probably been prevailing for many years according to local lore. Instances of leopard attacks on humans, despite this remarkable proximity, are unheard of, and the villagers are unfazed by the presence of big cats in their daily lives. Leopards are worshipped as demigods here, and villagers will not take revenge even if a calf, goat or pet dog is killed by it. Unlike in other parts of India, these Leopards don’t reside on trees; actually, there are hardly any trees or forest patches. They take refuge in the rocks and boulders that have ample cosy caves in the various hills of the Aravalli range that abound in the vicinity.”
According to the Wildlife Protection Society of India, 544 leopards died in India in 2023 while 518 died in 2022
Strangely, most of the diet of wild leopards living in the surrounding villages is not their natural prey, which is scarce, but heavily depends on sheep, goats, wild pigs, stray dogs, cow-calves, young camels, etc that belong to the villagers. The villagers consider the loss of their livestock as an offering to the gods; in this case, it is the countryside carnivore, which is the holy entity that lives in harmony.
“Populations of large carnivores in human-dominated landscapes are often suppressed by management action because of the potential risks they pose to people and domestic animals. The Sanjay Gandhi National Park in Mumbai has a good number of leopards but the wild prey base is insufficient to support it. As a result, the leopards are venturing into human-dominated habitats to prey on domestic animals, especially dogs and also to scavenge on carcasses,” says DrChellam.
According to some scientists, leopards can also provide beneficial services to human societies, even in urban surroundings like Mumbai. They suggest that by preying on stray dogs, leopards reduce the large number of people bitten by dogs, the risk of rabies transmission, and the costs associated with dog sterilisation and management.
Road-kill Disasters
In recent times, the biggest killer of leopards is death on rural roads, State highways and national highways. Human encroachments and developmental activities continue to threaten wildlife by fragmenting their habitat and isolating residential animals. At current roadkill rates, the leopard population in North India is at an 83% higher risk of extinction due to roadkill, according to an international study published in the Global Ecology and Biogeography. (bit.ly/3CMuvkb). The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) also recognisesroadkill as a threat to numerous wildlife species that live on the fringes of road networks. Collective action by citizens and authorities is imperative to create a world where humans and animals can coexist peacefully.
Within the 17 tiger-bearing States of India, the leopard occupies an area of around 1,74,066 sqkm, nearly double the area occupied by the tiger
No official countrywide population estimate is available in real terms, but within the 17 tiger-bearing States of India, the leopard occupies an area of around 174,066 sqkm, nearly double the area occupied by the tiger. However, the rising human-animal conflicts have experts concerned. Recently, a leopard cub was left paralysed after it was injured in a road accident two months ago while trying to cross a road near Nashik. The seven-month-old female cub was rescued by the forest department.
Healthy Healing
DrSakshiVerma, a practising physiotherapist in Lucknow and Hyderabad, asserts that regular physiotherapy, including leg massages and assisted walks, can significantly help leopards injured in road accidents. Wildlife animals have a natural tendency for self-healing and physiotherapy, combined with appropriate medication, can enhance their ability to repair injured musculature effectively for locomotion. Animal physiotherapists work alongside a multidisciplinary team as they do in conventional physiotherapy. However, they do not have first-line practitioner status in most countries.
“We often receive calls about animals that have been injured in road accidents across India. Such incidents are on the rise due to little or no provision for wildlife corridors or underpasses that allow animals to cross roads safely. Many unsuspecting animals put their lives at risk as they often wander for water onto these busy highways and end up getting injured or killed,” says Kartick, CEO of Wildlife SOS.
The number of leopards in Uttarakhand has come down from 2,276, which is 652 less than last year, according to the WII. Forest fires are a significant factor contributing to the diminishing population of leopards as tigers tend to inhabit dense forests, leaving leopards to hunt in settlements near forested areas. The forests in Uttarakhand that leopards inhabit have been increasingly impacted by natural and manmade fires.
One of my best sightings was last month while on a safari into the Ranthambore National Park with temperatures scorching at 44 degrees. After an hour of scanning the dry jungle for 10 km in an hour-long journey, we took a detour to a rocky natural culvert with a cool pool. Fleetingly, I sighted a perfectly camouflaged leopard which had come to quench its thirst. I went blazing with rapid firing shutter speeds of my camera and captured nearly 700 shots alternating with two cameras.
The story of leopards in India serves as a reminder of the delicate balance between nature and human development. By fostering coexistence and protecting these magnificent creatures, we can ensure that future generations will continue to marvel at the sight of a leopard basking in the golden glow of the setting sun, just as I did all those years ago.