Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Leopards have colonised the Nauradehi WildLife Sanctuary and the northern part of the Rani Durgavati WildLife Sanctuary, both are now parts of the newly created Veerangana Durgavati Tiger Reserve. The leopard occupancy has increased in the Chambal and Bundelkhand regions with a marginal decline reported from the Chhindwara forests.
The state holds the largest leopard population (3,907) in the country, which is a significant increase from the previous estimation of 3,421 in 2018. Camera trapping at a total of 27 sites in the state yielded images of 1,692 leopards.
The majority of the leopard population (74 percent) exists outside the protected area network, residing in the territorial forest divisions. Panna National Park and Kuno National Park exhibit some of the highest leopard densities in the country. Other tiger reserves, including Satpura, Bandhavgarh, Pench and Kanha, also have a high leopard density, showcasing their coexistence with tigers.
Ratapani Sanctuary and Balaghat forest divisions have shown a significant increase in leopard densities compared to the nationwide estimate of 2018.
146 leopards in Bandhavgarh
As many as 146 leopards are in Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve followed by 157 in Kanha Tiger Reserve, 256 in Panna Tiger Reserve, 132 in Pench Tiger Reserve, 110 in Sanjay Dubri Tiger Reserve and 215 in Satpura Tiger Reserve. In box 20 states covered The fifth cycle of leopard population assessment 2022 covered 20 states in the country spanning a foot survey spanning 6,41,449 km to estimate carnivore signs and prey abundance.
