It's always a delight to see happy reunions, especially when there are cuddly baby leopards involved. They may have fallen to prey, but, fortunately, they found their guardian angel in the form of a forest official who not only saved them but reunited them with their mother. What follows is a happy ending.

In the western Indian state of Maharashtra's Pathardi village's Nashik district, locals discovered three leopard pups in a field.&nbsp;According to multiple reports, a local named Kailas saw three cubs in the field, all between 10 and 12 days old. He found the cubs while working on Trimbak Dhemse's farm in the Ram neighbourhood of Wadi village. The locals then quickly alerted the forest department, which immediately surrounded the location and saved the cubs.

Pankaj Garg, Deputy Conservator of Forests, Nashik (West) said the area was cordoned off and the cubs were kept safe there. Later, the mother leopard took the cubs away and the family was safely reunited. The cubs were small and could have fallen into the hands of prey, said an official.

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Maharashtra : Nashik Efforts to reunite three leopard cubs found in a sugarcane field in Nashik with their mother have finally been successful. Three leopard cubs were found in a sugarcane field in Male area of Pathardi village in Nashik. Suddenly three leopard cubs were found <a href="https://t.co/6LOVo0LeTt">pic.twitter.com/6LOVo0LeTt</a>
— BHARAT GHANDAT (@BHARATGHANDAT2) <a href="https://twitter.com/BHARATGHANDAT2/status/1599786869876981761?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 5, 2022</a></blockquote>
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In India, there are more than 12,500 leopards. They regularly stray into surrounding settlements which can occasionally lead to animal-human conflict.

It's always a delight to see happy reunions, especially when there are cuddly baby leopards involved. They may have fallen to prey, but, fortunately, they found their guardian angel in the form of a forest official who not only saved them but reunited them with their mother.

It's always a delight to see happy reunions, especially when there are cuddly baby leopards involved. They may have fallen to prey, but, fortunately, they found their guardian angel in the form of a forest official who not only saved them but reunited them with their mother. What follows is a happy ending. In the western Indian state of Maharashtra's Pathardi village's Nashik district, locals discovered three leopard pups in a field. According to multiple reports, a local named Kailas saw three cubs in the field, all between 10 and 12 days old. He found the cubs while working on Trimbak Dhemse's farm in the Ram neighbourhood of Wadi village. The locals then quickly alerted the forest department, which immediately surrounded the location and saved the cubs. Pankaj Garg, Deputy Conservator of Forests, Nashik (West) said the area was cordoned off and the cubs were kept safe there. Later, the mother leopard took the cubs away and the family was safely reunited. The cubs were small and could have fallen into the hands of prey, said an official. Maharashtra : Nashik Efforts to reunite three leopard cubs found in a sugarcane field in Nashik with their mother have finally been successful. Three leopard cubs were found in a sugarcane field in Male area of Pathardi village in Nashik. Suddenly three leopard cubs were found pic.twitter.com/6LOVo0LeTt — BHARAT GHANDAT (@BHARATGHANDAT2) December 5, 2022 × In India, there are more than 12,500 leopards. They regularly stray into surrounding settlements which can occasionally lead to animal-human conflict.

WATCH - Mum, I'm back ! Baby leopards reunited with mother in Maharashtra's Nashik

Two leopards being sold online for around eleven hundred dollars have been rescued from poachers in Pakistan. These rare cats both male were freed by Sindh Wildlife Department from Karachi and were released at the Margala Hills, the wildlife department went to the site after receiving information of this illegal sale taking place in the birds market of the Pakistani port city.

Pakistan: Two leopards rescued from poachers

Two leopards have been rescued from poachers in Pakistan and brought back to the wild. Poachers are in custody and interrogation is underway.

Pakistan: Two leopards rescued from poachers, brought back to the wild

Indian Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar on Monday said that the population of leopards in India has gone up by 60 per cent since the last census was undertaken in 2014.

Even though the number of leopards has gone up, the scope of conflict between humans and leopards has also increased, which points to a worrying trend concerning leopards. 
&nbsp;

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/shocking-figures-in-wildlife-protection-society-study-110-tigers-491-leopards-died-in-2019-271422/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

This is due to the cats being forced out of their natural habitats in the forest due to human intervention. Human projects in the region have forced the cats to venture outside their comfort regions, causing human-animal conflicts. 
 
According to the report titled "Status of Leopard in India 2018", which was released by Javadekar, India&nbsp;has 12,852 leopards.

&nbsp;

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="http://13.235.153.162/world/florida-man-mauled-by-leopard-after-paying-150-for-full-contact-experience-339350" hreflang="en">Florida man mauled by leopard after paying $150 for 'full-contact experience'</a>

“India now has 12,852 leopards as compared to the previous estimate of 7,910 conducted in 2014. More than 60% increase in population has been recorded. The States of Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra recorded the highest leopard estimates at 3,421, 1,783 and 1,690 respectively,” the report claims

“Despite their widespread distribution, &nbsp;leopard habitats are being increasingly fragmented, &nbsp;and such small fragmented areas with low wild prey densities cannot harbour a sizable population of leopards,” the report adds. 
 
It further adds that most human-leopard conflict takes place in the hill of Shivalik-Terai region, and in parts of central India, where leopards are more commonly found. The report also suggests that developmental projects in areas with leopards become more environment-conscious.&nbsp;

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="http://13.235.153.162/india-news/110-tigers-491-leopards-died-in-2019-in-india-271486" hreflang="en">110 tiger and 491 leopard deaths reported in India in 2019</a> 
 
According to it, as leopards continue to venture into human territories, humans need to take mitigation measures around development projects to ensure leopards can continue to thrive, and so can other carnivores. This will also help preserve biodiversity in India.&nbsp;

India has at least 13,000 leopards, which are mostly found across prey rich areas in states like Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Karnataka.&nbsp;

Indian Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar on Monday said that the population of leopards in India has gone up by 60 per cent since the last census was undertaken in 2014.

Indian Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar on Monday said that the population of leopards in India has gone up by 60 per cent since the last census was undertaken in 2014. Even though the number of leopards has gone up, the scope of conflict between humans and leopards has also increased, which points to a worrying trend concerning leopards. This is due to the cats being forced out of their natural habitats in the forest due to human intervention. Human projects in the region have forced the cats to venture outside their comfort regions, causing human-animal conflicts. According to the report titled "Status of Leopard in India 2018", which was released by Javadekar, India has 12,852 leopards. Also read: Florida man mauled by leopard after paying $150 for 'full-contact experience' “India now has 12,852 leopards as compared to the previous estimate of 7,910 conducted in 2014. More than 60% increase in population has been recorded. The States of Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra recorded the highest leopard estimates at 3,421, 1,783 and 1,690 respectively,” the report claims “Despite their widespread distribution, leopard habitats are being increasingly fragmented, and such small fragmented areas with low wild prey densities cannot harbour a sizable population of leopards,” the report adds. It further adds that most human-leopard conflict takes place in the hill of Shivalik-Terai region, and in parts of central India, where leopards are more commonly found. The report also suggests that developmental projects in areas with leopards become more environment-conscious. Also read: 110 tiger and 491 leopard deaths reported in India in 2019 According to it, as leopards continue to venture into human territories, humans need to take mitigation measures around development projects to ensure leopards can continue to thrive, and so can other carnivores. This will also help preserve biodiversity in India. India has at least 13,000 leopards, which are mostly found across prey rich areas in states like Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Karnataka.

India's leopard population has increased by 60% in last 4 years: Environment Minister Javadekar

A sea lion performed its usual routine to empty crowds on Tuesday (April 21) in its pool at the Palmyre Zoo in western France, which has closed due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Seals, monkeys perform to empty crowds at French zoo amid virus crisis

A compilation by a c (NGO) Wildlife Protection Society of India (WPSI) has said that India lost 110 tigers and 491 leopards in 2019. While a third of the tigers that is, 38 were lost to poaching. #Tigers #Leopards #IndiaTigers

Shocking figures in wildlife protection society study, 110 tigers 491 leopards died in 2019

By&nbsp;Christopher O&#39;Bryan*,&nbsp;Alexander Richard Braczkowski**

A fleeting glimpse of the black spots and gold fur of a leopard is not an uncommon sight at Sanjay Gandhi National Park in the Indian city of Mumbai.

Leopards are often thought of as a threat to humans, but rather than being a problem in Mumbai, they may actually be helping their human neighbours &ndash; even saving their lives.&nbsp;

Recent studies suggest there may be as many as 41 leopards roaming the 104km2 park. That&rsquo;s about two to three times the leopard density you&rsquo;d find in some of the most productive savannas in Africa or Sri Lanka.

Mumbai&rsquo;s leopards live alongside people, mostly in informal settlements, and they hunt and kill dogs in and around their villages. On average, dogs make up about 40% of a Mumbai leopard&rsquo;s diet.&nbsp;

So what, you might ask. Leopards are one of the world&rsquo;s most adaptable big cats, feeding on more than 100 prey items worldwide, so aren&rsquo;t they just doing what an opportunist would do?

A city of dogs

If you&rsquo;ve ever visited Mumbai, you&rsquo;ll probably remember a few incredible sights: the Gateway of India, Mumbai&rsquo;s bustling city and teeming traffic &ndash; and its dogs.

Hundreds and thousands of dogs. On every street corner, in every alley. Recent surveys have shown that about 95,000 dogs roam Mumbai.&nbsp;

We wanted to delve deeper into the uncanny relationship Mumbai&rsquo;s leopards have with the dogs. And what about bites, we asked. Do dogs bite people, and what about rabies risk?

After sifting through about 40 newspaper articles and online reports, we found that nearly 75,000 bites are recorded annually in the city (although many more are likely unreported). More than 420 people in Mumbai have died from rabies as a result of stray dog bites over a 20-year period.

It was at that point we wondered whether leopards help to protect people from dog bites by keeping the dog population down &ndash; especially around the park where their diet is dominated by dogs.

Surveys performed by population biologist Lex Hiby and Nikit Surve of the Wildlife Institute of India around the park suggest that the answer is yes. Dog densities there are lower and, according to our analyses, citizens might experience only 11% of the bites compared with people who live further from the park.&nbsp;

Moreover, by consuming between 800 and 2,000 dogs per year, we calculate that the leopard population saves the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai about US$18,000 (A$23,000) in sterilisation costs (or 8% of the municipality&rsquo;s annual sterilisation budget).

If you remove the leopards

The final piece of the puzzle was to model what a park with no leopards would look like &ndash; a sad prediction if increased urbanisation, deforestation and conflict occur over future decades.

Under one set of assumptions, we found dog bites could increase by between 140 to more than 5,000 per year as dog populations would grow in and around the park area. The medical costs for these bites could total as much as US$200,000 (A$256,000) per year.&nbsp;

Our research puts a new twist on a large predator that has been persecuted for millennia, and which has generally been viewed as a nuisance to stock farmers globally and those living on the edge of Sanjay Gandhi National Park.

Leopards are believed to have disappeared from about 63-75% of their global range. We have to think of large predators in a broader sense &ndash; they can at times be helpful to farmers, ecosystems and even insurance companies.&nbsp;

The big challenge in Sanjay Gandhi National Park is not only leopard attacks on the odd pig or cattle calf &ndash; leopards here sometimes kill people. Leopard attacks on people peaked at 25 cases in 2002. Most of these were attributed to leopards moved from other forest patches into Sanjay Gandhi, a kind of catch-and-dump scheme by local governments for problem animals.&nbsp;

It&rsquo;s thought this had a chaotic effect on leopard home ranges and social structure as leopards are territorial. But leopard attacks came to an almost complete halt for four years until 2017 when residents were angered by a spate of new attacks.

The big challenge is to evaluate the benefits of these leopards and similar large carnivores; it&rsquo;s equally important to assess the costs of these species to local communities. The real issue is navigating the costs with the benefits, and identifying those cases of net-benefit.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

*Christopher O&#39;Bryan is a PhD Candidate, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Queensland&nbsp;

**Alexander Richard Braczkowski is a PhD Candidate - Wildlife Cameraman, The University of Queensland&nbsp;

&nbsp;

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

More than 420 people in Mumbai have died from rabies as a result of stray dog bites over a 20-year period. Leopards help to protect people from dog bites by keeping the dog population down.

By Christopher O'Bryan*, Alexander Richard Braczkowski** A fleeting glimpse of the black spots and gold fur of a leopard is not an uncommon sight at Sanjay Gandhi National Park in the Indian city of Mumbai. Leopards are often thought of as a threat to humans, but rather than being a problem in Mumbai, they may actually be helping their human neighbours – even saving their lives. Recent studies suggest there may be as many as 41 leopards roaming the 104km2 park. That’s about two to three times the leopard density you’d find in some of the most productive savannas in Africa or Sri Lanka. Mumbai’s leopards live alongside people, mostly in informal settlements, and they hunt and kill dogs in and around their villages. On average, dogs make up about 40% of a Mumbai leopard’s diet. So what, you might ask. Leopards are one of the world’s most adaptable big cats, feeding on more than 100 prey items worldwide, so aren’t they just doing what an opportunist would do? A city of dogs If you’ve ever visited Mumbai, you’ll probably remember a few incredible sights: the Gateway of India, Mumbai’s bustling city and teeming traffic – and its dogs. Hundreds and thousands of dogs. On every street corner, in every alley. Recent surveys have shown that about 95,000 dogs roam Mumbai. We wanted to delve deeper into the uncanny relationship Mumbai’s leopards have with the dogs. And what about bites, we asked. Do dogs bite people, and what about rabies risk? After sifting through about 40 newspaper articles and online reports, we found that nearly 75,000 bites are recorded annually in the city (although many more are likely unreported). More than 420 people in Mumbai have died from rabies as a result of stray dog bites over a 20-year period. It was at that point we wondered whether leopards help to protect people from dog bites by keeping the dog population down – especially around the park where their diet is dominated by dogs. Surveys performed by population biologist Lex Hiby and Nikit Surve of the Wildlife Institute of India around the park suggest that the answer is yes. Dog densities there are lower and, according to our analyses, citizens might experience only 11% of the bites compared with people who live further from the park. Moreover, by consuming between 800 and 2,000 dogs per year, we calculate that the leopard population saves the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai about US$18,000 (A$23,000) in sterilisation costs (or 8% of the municipality’s annual sterilisation budget). If you remove the leopards The final piece of the puzzle was to model what a park with no leopards would look like – a sad prediction if increased urbanisation, deforestation and conflict occur over future decades. Under one set of assumptions, we found dog bites could increase by between 140 to more than 5,000 per year as dog populations would grow in and around the park area. The medical costs for these bites could total as much as US$200,000 (A$256,000) per year. Our research puts a new twist on a large predator that has been persecuted for millennia, and which has generally been viewed as a nuisance to stock farmers globally and those living on the edge of Sanjay Gandhi National Park. Leopards are believed to have disappeared from about 63-75% of their global range. We have to think of large predators in a broader sense – they can at times be helpful to farmers, ecosystems and even insurance companies. The big challenge in Sanjay Gandhi National Park is not only leopard attacks on the odd pig or cattle calf – leopards here sometimes kill people. Leopard attacks on people peaked at 25 cases in 2002. Most of these were attributed to leopards moved from other forest patches into Sanjay Gandhi, a kind of catch-and-dump scheme by local governments for problem animals. It’s thought this had a chaotic effect on leopard home ranges and social structure as leopards are territorial. But leopard attacks came to an almost complete halt for four years until 2017 when residents were angered by a spate of new attacks. The big challenge is to evaluate the benefits of these leopards and similar large carnivores; it’s equally important to assess the costs of these species to local communities. The real issue is navigating the costs with the benefits, and identifying those cases of net-benefit. *Christopher O'Bryan is a PhD Candidate, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Queensland **Alexander Richard Braczkowski is a PhD Candidate - Wildlife Cameraman, The University of Queensland (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

Opinion: How Leopards in India may help lower human injuries and deaths from stray dog bites

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