Leopard
Indian leopard (Panthera pardus fusca)
The Indian leopard inhabits India, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan and China. It occurs across much of India, both in protected areas and human used landscapes. There are recent reports of leopards from Pakistan. In a densely populated human used landscape in western India, leopard densities were reported to be 5 individuals per 100 km². These leopards exhibited home range sizes of 8-15 km². The law in India protects the leopard even if it occurs outside protected areas and even a livestock attack cannot elicit killing of the leopard. As leopards in India occur in areas such as tea gardens, sugarcane fields and rocky outcrops, they share the space with a high density of humans, wherefore they are more frequently involved in conflicts with humans than other large cats in India. A recent study showed that over the last ten years, one leopard has been killed each week, for the illegal wildlife trade in India. Such high rates of poaching and widespread conflict are the main threats to leopards in India.
