Team Herald
PANJIM: The State of Goa is home to 86 of the 3,387 leopards found in the Western Ghats region according to the “Status of Leopards, Co-Predators and Megha-Herbivores in India 2018” report released by Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav at an event to mark the Global Tiger Day.
As per the report, out of the 3,387 leopards found in the Western Ghats in 2018 – 86 leopards were found in Goa; 1,783 in Karnataka; 650 in Kerala and 868 in Tamil Nadu.
Incidentally, as per the all India tiger estimation exercise undertaken in 2018, following which a report was released in April 2020, Goa had five tigers in 2014 and the number had come down to three in 2018.
An estimated 12,852 leopards were counted in the tiger range landscape of India in 2018, which was a significant increase from the 7,910 figure reported in the year 2014 from all the forested habitats of the 18 tiger-bearing States of the country.
