Forest department rules out leopard presence on campus after verification: JNU

New Delhi [India], September 6 (ANI): Hours after panic gripped Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) over reports of a leopard sighting, forest department officials have ruled out the presence of the big cat following spot verification, varsity officials said on Saturday night.

“Forest officials did not confirm the presence of a leopard in JNU. They have gone back after spot verification,” JNU officials told ANI.

Earlier in the evening, a student claimed to have spotted a leopard near Aravalli Guest House while feeding stray dogs and cats, prompting immediate alerts to the university administration and security personnel. 

The forest department was informed and a team reached the campus, initially suspecting the animal’s presence based on footprints.

The university administration had issued an informal advisory asking students to stay inside hostels, keep doors and windows closed, and avoid forested areas, including those near the stadium and Yamuna banks.

However, after a thorough check, forest officials confirmed that no leopard was present on the campus and subsequently left the spot.

Last year, on February 29th, Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Bhupender Yadav, released the report on the Status of Leopards in India. 

According to a statement from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, the fifth cycle leopard population estimation was carried out by the National Tiger Conservation Authority and Wildlife Institute of India, in collaboration with State Forest Departments, as part of the quadrennial “Monitoring of Tiger, Co-predators, prey and their habitat” exercise in tiger range States. This exercise has proved invaluable to the conservation efforts of the country.

India's leopard population is estimated at 13,874 (Range: 12,616 – 15,132) individuals, representing stable population in comparison to the similar area being sampled in 2018 with 12852 (12,172-13,535) individuals. This estimate represent population of 70% of leopard habitat, the Himalayas and semi arid parts of country which are not tiger habitat were not sampled.

Central India shows a stable or slightly growing population of leopards (2018: 8071, 2022: 8820), Shivalik hills and Gangetic plains experienced decline (2018: 1253, 2022: 1109). If we look at the area which was sampled both in 2018 and 2022 across India, there is a 1.08% per annum growth. In Shivalik hills and Gangetic plains, there is a -3.4% decline per annum, while the largest growth rate was in Central India and Eastern Ghats of 1.5%.

Madhya Pradesh houses the largest population of leopards in the country – 3907 (2018: 3421), followed by Maharashtra (2022: 1985; 2018: 1,690), Karnataka (2022: 1,879 ; 2018: 1,783) and Tamil Nadu (2022: 1,070; 2018: 868).  Tiger Reserves or sites with highest leopard population are, Nagarajunasagar Srisailam (Andhra Pradesh), followed by Panna (Madhya Pradesh), and  Satpura (Madhya Pradesh). (ANI)