Number of leopards exceeding the carrying capacity

For the first time in 25 years since the dedicated wildlife rescue and rehabilitation centre opened in 1999, the number of leopards in its care is exceeding its capacity. Now, officials are worried that they will run out of space.

23 new leopards brought in 2024

In 2020-21, only eight leopards were captured and brought in. That number nearly doubled to 15 in 2022-23. The following year, 23 new leopards were brought to the centre. Most were captured from areas around Bengaluru, Mysuru, and Tumakuru.

Karnataka - 3rd highest population in big cats

With an estimated 1,879 leopards, Karnataka has the third-largest population of these elusive big cats in India, behind only Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. But nearly a hundred of them languish in captivity across rescue centres and zoos in the state.

Reasons behind this growth

Growing urbanisation, increasing mining and blasting in forests have forced leopards to venture out into towns

Human animal conflict

Between 2018 and 2022, Karnataka recorded 23 human deaths due to leopard attacks and over 1,200 domestic animal losses, according to the Union Government’s ‘The Leopard Status in India 2022’ report.

62% of leopards displaying stereotypic behaviours

Researcher Janice Vaz and others observed that 62 per cent of leopards in six Indian zoos—Pune, Thiruvananthapuram, Thrissur, Chennai, and Delhi—displayed stereotypic behaviours (indicators of severe stress) between April 2014 and March 2015.

Homing instincts

Leopards, like other big cats, have remarkable homing instincts.

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June 2025

Turmeric farming - a new way to thwart wild animal threat in Kerala's Munnar

• Turmeric farming on the abandoned lands, as wild animals stay away from such farms.
• All wild animals including elephants and wild boars stay away from turmeric farms. ¹

References

Footnotes

1. 18.06.2025 - The Hindu ↩