Conservationists sound alarm as India loses 106 leopards in two months
4th March, 2018
NEW
DELHI: A staggering 106 leopards have died in the first two months of
this year in forest areas across the country -- a number that
conservationists and officials said was alarmingly high for the
"vulnerable" feline species in India.
According to the Wildlife
Protection Society of India (WPSI), which compiled the data, the
maximum number of deaths was due to poaching as evident from seizures
of leopard hides and other body parts. Only 12 of the big cats died of
natural causes.
Uttarakhand tops the list with 24 leopard
deaths, followed by Maharashtra (18) and Rajashtan (11). The incidents
of mortality were reported from 18 states.
According to official
records, a total of 431 leopards died in 2017. These included 159
incidents of poaching. Some 450 big cats died in 2016 and 127 of them
were found poached.
Leopards have been targeted by poachers for
their expensive hides and other body parts. However, habitat loss,
especially due to farming, has posed a new threat to them.
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