Bhubaneswar: Over the past five years, Odisha has reported the deaths of 34 leopards and three Royal Bengal Tigers in its forests, highlighting challenges in wildlife conservation. The data was shared by Forests, Environment, and Climate Change Minister Ganesh Ram Singkhuntia in response to a query from Congress MLA Tara Prasad Bahinipati during the Odisha Assembly session on Tuesday.
Breaking down the leopard fatalities recorded between 2019-20 and November 26, 2024, the Minister revealed that 17 deaths were caused by poaching, three by electrocution, and one each by a railway accident and an unspecified accident. Additionally, three leopards lost their lives in road accidents, three succumbed to disease, and four died of natural causes. The cause of three deaths remains unidentified.
Regarding the Royal Bengal Tigers, the Minister disclosed that one death was attributed to hunting, another to internal conflict among tigers, while the cause of the third death is unclear.
The latest All Odisha Tiger Estimation Report places the state’s Royal Bengal Tiger population at 30. Meanwhile, the 2024 Leopard Estimation Report counted 696 leopards across Odisha’s forests.