Proceedings of the National Institute of Ecology of the Republic of Korea

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Estimating Population Density of Leopards in Semi-Arid habitat, Western India

  • Received : 2022.11.25
  • Accepted : 2023.03.07
  • Published : 2023.05.01
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Abstract

The leopard (Panthera pardus) is one of the most widespread felids worldwide. Despite their wide distribution, reliable data on leopard population densities are still inadequate for conservation and management strategies in different landscapes. In the present study, we estimated leopard density using camera traps in the Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve (RTR), Rajasthan, India, between December 2010 and February 2011, where leopards coexist alongside a high density of tigers (Panthera tigris), a larger predator (RTR). A sampling effort of 4,450 trap days was made from 178 camera trapping stations over 75 days, resulting in 46 suitable photo captures (25 right flanks and 21 left flanks). In total, 18 individuals (7 males, 8 females, and 3 unknown sexes) were identified using the right flanks, and the estimated leopard density was 8.8 (standard error=2.8) individuals/100 km2. Leopard density appeared to respond to small prey (<50 kg weight) richness. As this is the first systematic study to provide baseline information on leopard density in RTR, it could form a baseline for comparison in future investigations.

Keywords

Acknowledgement

We are grateful to the Director and Dean of the Wildlife Institute of India for their help. We are grateful to the Rajasthan Forest Department, as well as the reserve officials and field employees at the RTR for granting permission and allowing our work, as well as for their assistance. Special thanks go to the RTR's nature guides and field helpers, M. S. Gurjar and S. Sharma, for their assistance. The Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India provided financial support through the Training Research and Academic Council.

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