Worried over non appearance of leopards for more than a year in the eco-fragile Aravalli hills, the Haryana wildlife department has decided to conduct a survey in the region to ascertain actual number of the endangered animal.
Officials believe that the number of leopard has gone up after mining activities were banned in the region following a court's order. But, the animal has not been spotted since July 2010, when a leopard was caught at a farmhouse after it killed a pet dog in Sohna region.
According to sources, in 1993 there were 24 leopards in the district. Seven years later, the number reached 30. Officials are hopeful that number must have increased in the last five years as a ban has been imposed on mining in the area since 2006.
"We are hopeful that the population of wild cat must have increased. Though I cannot give exact figure but to substantiate we would be doing a census of leopard in December," said Kulwinder Singh, district forest officer (wildlife).
He said that earlier many leopards used to flee from the forest due to blasts sounds, which were common during mining activities. Several times, leopards have trespassed residential areas. Illegal mining and hunting of animals had threatened the existence of leopards in the region. But now things have improved drastically.
{{/usCountry}}He said that earlier many leopards used to flee from the forest due to blasts sounds, which were common during mining activities. Several times, leopards have trespassed residential areas. Illegal mining and hunting of animals had threatened the existence of leopards in the region. But now things have improved drastically.
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