Vadodara: If you travel in the interiors Dhanpur in taluka Dahod District, there are chances that you can easily spot the leopard. There is at least one leopard for every 2.5 square kilometers of forest area in the taluka.
There are 154 leopards in Dahod district and 51 of them are in Dhanpur.
The taluka also includes the Ratanmahal Sloth Bear Sanctuary. According to officials, the total forest area in the taluka is around 13,000 hectares.
It was known that Dhanpur had a high population of leopards and the recent census put the figure at 51.
According to a rough estimate, there is one leopard for every 2.5 sq km of forest area in the taluka. So, of course, space This is not enough for the leopard, which is considered a territorial animal.
Deputy Conservator of Forests RM Parmar Said that the population of leopards in the area has increased due to no major intervention. He said Dhanpur may count as many as 51 leopards, some of them may have territories that include adjoining talukas and districts as well as areas in Madhya Pradesh that border Dhanpur.
Parmar said that there is sufficient prey base for leopard in the district. Sources said the absence of any other major carnivore species in the region also contributes to the growing population of leopards.
Practice JainA naturalist from Dahod told that it is generally believed that the area of a leopard is at least 5 sq km. “But this area is very small now. It is not uncommon to see a leopard which is otherwise a very shy animal. It seems to have got used to living around human population now,” he said.
Jain said that given the high numbers, it is feared that the leopard will stray into human settlements.
Although incidents of attacks on humans had been reported in the past, there had been no incidents of leopards being attacked or killed when they came into conflict with local populations.
“Many years back, we used to hear about such incidents. Now, this is unheard of in the area. People are either more aware or have learned to live with the big cat,” he said.
There are 154 leopards in Dahod district and 51 of them are in Dhanpur.
The taluka also includes the Ratanmahal Sloth Bear Sanctuary. According to officials, the total forest area in the taluka is around 13,000 hectares.
It was known that Dhanpur had a high population of leopards and the recent census put the figure at 51.
According to a rough estimate, there is one leopard for every 2.5 sq km of forest area in the taluka. So, of course, space This is not enough for the leopard, which is considered a territorial animal.
Deputy Conservator of Forests RM Parmar Said that the population of leopards in the area has increased due to no major intervention. He said Dhanpur may count as many as 51 leopards, some of them may have territories that include adjoining talukas and districts as well as areas in Madhya Pradesh that border Dhanpur.
Parmar said that there is sufficient prey base for leopard in the district. Sources said the absence of any other major carnivore species in the region also contributes to the growing population of leopards.
Practice JainA naturalist from Dahod told that it is generally believed that the area of a leopard is at least 5 sq km. “But this area is very small now. It is not uncommon to see a leopard which is otherwise a very shy animal. It seems to have got used to living around human population now,” he said.
Jain said that given the high numbers, it is feared that the leopard will stray into human settlements.
Although incidents of attacks on humans had been reported in the past, there had been no incidents of leopards being attacked or killed when they came into conflict with local populations.
“Many years back, we used to hear about such incidents. Now, this is unheard of in the area. People are either more aware or have learned to live with the big cat,” he said.