696 leopards found in Odisha

Bhubaneswar: The first State-sponsored leopard census conducted in Odisha has revealed the presence of 696 leopards in different forest areas of the State, officials said.

The census report of the Odisha Forest department was released during an event to celebrate the State Wildlife Week here on Thursday.

Commenting on the ‘All Odisha Leopard Estimation’, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF), Wildlife, Susanta Nanda said about 200 leopards were located in Similipal Tiger Reserve and surrounding areas, which is the highest in the State. The Satkosia landscape turned out to be another promising site for these animals, boasting the second-highest leopard population in the State at 150, Nanda said.

During the census, 70 to 80 wild leopards were found in Hirakud, Redhakhol and Sambalpur areas in Sambalpur district, followed by 40 in Sunabeda and Khariar forests in Nuapada district, he said.

“Forty-five percent of the leopard population in Odisha is located outside the protected area network... The territorial forest divisions have considerable leopard presence,” the report said. The exercise was conducted in 47 forest divisions to identify leopard presence through various signs, including pugmarks, scrapes, scats, rakes, urine spray, vocalisations and livestock depredation, it said.

Sites with confirmed direct or indirect evidence of leopards was monitored using camera traps, the officials said. From next year, the survey will be synchronised with the annual All Odisha Tiger Estimation, they said.

The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) had conducted the last leopard census in Odisha in 2022, during which 568 leopards were found. The population of leopards in the State was 760, as per the 2018 NTCA census.