According to a recent study on ‘Common leopards’ (Panthera pardus fusca) by TRAFFIC India, total 747 leopard deaths were reported between 2015-2019 in India, 596 were linked to illegal wildlife trade and activities related to poaching.
Basic Facts
The paper was published with title ‘‘SPOTTED’ in Illegal Wildlife Trade: A Peek into Ongoing Poaching and Illegal Trade of Leopards in India’.
These records indicated that 140 leopards were killed by poachers and their carcasses were recovered from the forest areas, whereas body parts belonging to the equivalent of 456 leopards were seized during various operations by law enforcement agencies during the study period.
The highest numbers of poaching incidents were reported from the States of Uttarakhand and Maharashtra.
During the period 2015 to 2019, there were more than 140 cases of seizures of leopard body parts in Uttarakhand, and about 19 incidents where the deaths of these cats could be directly linked to poaching.
More than 40 cases of seizure of leopard body parts and 16 cases of poaching were recorded from Maharashtra between 2015 to 2019.
The common leopards are the largest predators of its ecosystem and they play an important role in maintaining its health.
What is TRAFFIC?
TRAFFIC is a leading non-governmental organisation working on wildlife trade in the context of both biodiversity conservation and sustainable development. Actually it is a wildlife trade monitoring network across the world.
(Source: The Hindu)
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