ONGOLE: According to the recently released ‘EnviStats India-2024’ report, the Nagarjuna Sagar-Srisailam Tiger Reserve (NSTR) in the Nallamala Forest has been ranked first among India’s 55 tiger reserves for its leopard population, with an estimated 360 leopards. This includes approximately 270 leopards that have made NSTR their habitat and another 90 that move through the area. Leopards are the second largest big cat species in the region after tigers.
The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) published the 7th edition of the ‘EnviStats India-2024: Environment Accounts,’ which estimates India’s leopard population at around 13,874. Andhra Pradesh is home to about 569 leopards, with NSTR alone sheltering nearly 360.
Leopard population surveys differ from those of tigers and lions. Experts analyze footprints to distinguish between male and female leopards, with males’ footprints typically squarer, while females’ are more rectangular. Leopard footprints measure between 7 cm to 8 cm, compared to 14 cm to 15 cm for tigers.
NSTR, covering 1,401 square kilometers across Andhra Pradesh’s Prakasam, Nandyala, and Palnadu districts, also hosts more than 80 tigers. Forest officials are actively working to protect the big cats, ensuring food sources like deer and sambars are available and providing drinking water by filling saucer pits in the summer. Fire prevention measures are also in place to safeguard the reserve.
An official from NSTR highlighted these efforts have contributed to the increasing leopard population in the region.