Largest Leopard safari opens at Bannerghatta

Indian Leopard

• Indian leopard is a leopard subspecies widely distributed on the Indian subcontinent.
• A leopard does not have any stripes. 
• It has spots peppered on its body. 
• A leopard can kill for the pleasure of killing by pouncing continuously on its prey.
• The species Panthera pardus is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List
• Leopards have survived outside protected areas in many parts of India since historical times.

Status of Leopards India report

• India’s leopard numbers rose by 8% from 12,852 in 2018 to 13,874 in 2022.
• Highest number of leopards were reported in Madhya Pradesh (3,907).
• Three other States reported over 1,000 animals each — Maharashtra (1,985), Karnataka (1,879) and Tamil Nadu (1,070).
• Uttarakhand reported a 22% decline in the Leopard Population.
• Odisha has witnessed a sharp decline in its leopard population — approximately one-fourth lost — primarily due to poaching between 2018 and 2022.
  • Leopard densities from both the tiger reserves (Similipal and Satkosia tiger reserves) in the State have increased significantly.
• Shivalik hills and Gangetic plains recorded a 3.4% yearly decline.
• Central India and Eastern Ghats, Western Ghats and hills of the northeast, and Brahmaputra flood plains recorded growth of 1.5%, 1%, and 1.3% per annum respectively.
• About 65% of leopard population is present outside protected areas in Shivalik landscape. 
• In Uttar Pradesh, both leopard and tiger numbers have increased.

Causes for Decline

• According to the report, the biggest threats to the dwindling leopard population are poaching of prey for bush meat, targeted poaching for tiger and leopard skins and body parts.
  • Habitat loss due to mining and other human activities. 
  • Road accidents are also a significant cause of leopard fatalities.

Bannerghatta Biological Park

• Bannerghatta Biological Park, also known as the Bannerghatta Zoo, is a zoological garden located in the city of Bengaluru. 
• It was initially a small zoo and picnic corner within Bannerghatta National Park (BNP) which was started in 1974. 
• The bifurcation of the Biological Park and the National Park took place in 2002. 
• The Bannerghatta Biological Park covers a total area of 731.88 hectares and includes a zoo, safari park, butterfly park and rescue centre

Safari in Bannerghatta Biological Park

• Following the guidelines of the Central Zoo Authority (CZA), visitors can view big cats spread over an area of 20 hectare with a 6.5-metre-high chain link net to ensure their safety.
• As per guidelines given by the CZA, we have ensured that only hand-reared and zoo-born leopards are part of the safari