THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The state has recorded the highest number of leopard deaths in a decade this year, with 12 fatalities reported till August 2025, according to forest department data.
Between July 2015 and August 2025, a total of 92 leopards including adults, sub-adults, and juveniles have died due to natural causes, infighting, snaring, poisoning, hunting, electrocution, and vehicle hits.
The toll was spread across almost every district, but the highest losses were in Palakkad with 34 deaths, followed by Wayanad with 20 and Thrissur with eight.
Idukki recorded six deaths, Kottayam five, and Ernakulam four. Thiruvananthapuram reported three, the same as Malappuram and Kasaragod, while Kollam and Pathanamthitta had two each. Kozhikode and Kannur recorded one each.
The trend shows an alarming spike this year, surpassing the previous peak of 10 deaths each in 2020 and 2024. In 2025 alone, six adult leopards, two sub-adults, three juveniles, and one of unidentified age were lost.
Snaring has been a persistent threat, claiming two leopards this year and eight in total since 2018. Trapping accounted for a death this year, while other causes include hunting, poisoning, and electrocution. Vehicle collisions have also been reported, though less frequently.
Despite conducting anti-snare drives across the state, incidents of snaring have increased.
“Conservation can only be done with community participation. That’s the only sustainable way. But there are certain groups among locals that encourage setting up snares in the name of ‘safety’, which have become dangerous,” a senior forest official told TNIE.
Snares are typically set for wild boars or other animals but end up killing non-target species like leopards. Trapping, the official explained, is different.
“Trapping is when the animal’s limbs are caught. It could be a cage trap or any other device. That won’t trap the animal like snares do. Snares catch the animal’s entire body,” the official said.
Wildlife researchers say the danger is not limited to the snare itself.
“The animals might remain trapped for a long time before they are found. Their desperate efforts to escape can strangle them or tighten the snare around the body, causing internal bleeding. By the time darting and tranquillisation are attempted, the animal may already be in extreme stress and poor health,” said Sandeep Das, a research associate with the department of zoology, Calicut University.
While natural deaths form a significant portion of the toll, conservationists say that preventable causes like snaring demand urgent attention.