Sharp rise in leopard deaths in MP, many being poached for occult practices
22 Sep 2021
56 leopards
have been found dead in Madhya Pradesh in the first eight months of
this year, already past the average number of big cats killed in the
past five years. Of these, carcasses of at least 26 leopards were found
without whiskers, teeth and nails, a clear sign of poaching for use in
occult practices, a forest department official claimed.
Activists
in the state also said that the growing number of leopard deaths was a
consequence of lack of conservation efforts for other wildlife with the
system focussed solely on tiger conservation. Madhya Pradesh has the
highest number of leopards in the country and a report called “Status
of Leopards in India” 2018, putting the number at 3,421, close to
double of its nearest rival Karnataka, which has 1,783.
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