Extinction Risk for leopards in North India

Extinction Risk for leopards in North India

Part of: Prelims and GS-III – Conservation

Context An international study was conducted that quantifies the threat posed by roads to the survival of animal populations around the world.

Key findings related to India

• The leopard faces an 83% increased risk of extinction in North India due to roadkill.
• The leopard population of North India is at highest risk among four animal populations identified as being the most vulnerable to extinction in the next 50 years if observed roadkill levels persist.
• Leopard is followed by the maned wolf and the little spotted cat, both of Brazil, and the brown hyena of southern Africa.
• At an 83% increased risk, the study estimates the time to the North Indian leopard population’s extinction at 33 years.

About Leopard

• Scientific Name- Panthera pardus.
• Listed in Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
• Included in Appendix I of CITES.
• Listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List.
• Nine subspecies of the leopard have been recognized, and they are distributed across Africa and Asia.