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Karnataka most dangerous for the leopard in the South

Uttarakhand-Uttar Pradesh zone is the biggest source for leopard parts and skins, according to a recent study.

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Karnataka is the second most dangerous zone for the leopard, the distant cousin of the coveted tiger that is now being increasingly targeted by poachers across India.

The Uttarakhand-Uttar Pradesh zone is the biggest source for leopard parts and skins, while Delhi is the epicentre of the illegal wildlife trade, according to a just-released TRAFFIC study “Illuminating the Blind Spot: A study on illegal trade in leopard parts in India”. Karnataka, incidentally, has one of the biggest number of tiger population in the country.

The TRAFFIC study, which primarily examined details of wildlife seizures made during 2001-2010, also found that most of the seizures made in Karnataka were in the fragile and now-controversial Western Ghats area.

Between 2001 and 2010, 84 seizures were made in Uttarakhand and 47 in Uttar Pradesh. The tally for Karnataka was 41. Though Delhi was third with 44 seizures, the state does not host any leopard population in the wild. In terms of the spread of the seizure locations, Uttarakhand was once again the highest with skins and body parts being recovered from 30 places. Karnataka was close behind with 25.

According to the report, most leopard parts are smuggled out of India via the porous border with Nepal. Earlier investigations indicated many leopard parts found for sale in northern Myanmar, northern Laos and the ethnic Tibetan regions of China originated from India.

The leopard (Panthera pardus) is fully protected under Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, and commercial international trade is banned under CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora).

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