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 was released by the state’s Forest, Environment and Climate Change Minister Ganesh Ram Singh Khuntia during an event to celebrate the State Wildlife Week here on Thursday.

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.

Commenting on the ‘All Odisha Leopard Estimation’, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF), Wildlife, Susanta Nanda said about 200 leopards were located in the 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 carried out between November 2023 and March 2024 in 47 forest divisions, 70 to 80 wild leopards were found in the Hirakud, Redhakhol and Sambalpur areas in Sambalpur district, followed by 40 in the 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 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 were monitored using camera traps, the officials said.

From next year, the survey will be synchronised with the annual All Odisha Tiger Estimation, they said.

Speaking on the occasion, the minister said: “The vast biodiversity of our state is unparalleled in the entire world. Our forests are rich in diverse wildlife. More than a thousand species of plants, 14 species of mammals, 537 species of birds, 29 species of amphibians and 129 species of reptiles are found in our state.” At present, 36.21 per cent of Odisha's geographical area is covered by forests, which is significantly higher than the national average of 24 per cent, he said.

The Odisha government is taking various measures for the protection, conservation, growth and habitat of wild animals, Khuntia added.

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