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Leopard among pantherine is more tolerant and co-occur with humans in a wide variety of habitats. Understanding ecology, behavior and population dynamics are key to conservation of such species. The present study was conducted in resource deficient semi-arid landscape of India. Leopard density was estimated using spatially explicit capture-recapture framework in an area of 217 sq.km. Dietary composition of leopard was examined through scat analysis. 78 interviews were conducted to understand people's perception towards leopard. Density of leopards was estimated to be 6.38/100 sq.km. 11 prey species were found in diet including both domestic and wild. Social survey results show a high tolerance which can be explained by strong religious views towards the species, further strengthened by minimal loss of life to humans. Leopard existence in an area with such high human density (236 human/sq.km.) and almost negligible conflict can be attributed to connectivity with nearby protected area, heterogeneous terrain, availability of livestock, and religious sentiments of local people.
About the author
Ravi Kumar Sharma graduated Wildlife Institute of India in 2017. He has broad interests in large carnivore ecology, understanding the pattern of human-wildlife interaction and the social behavior of wild animals. He has mostly worked on large cats (especially Leopard and Tiger) in India.
