Question: which of the following statements are correct?
i) The ‘Status of Leopard in India 2018’ report was released by Union environment minister Prakash Javadekar.
ii) Karnataka has largest population of leopard.
iii) Last such census of leopard was carried out in 2014.
a) ii and iii
b) i and ii
c) i and iii
d )all of the above
Answer: c)
Context
- Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar has released the ‘Status of Leopard in India 2018’ report.
Facts
- India now has 12,852 leopards.
- This amounts to 60% increase in leopard population from the 2014 level when last report was released.
- MP (3,421), Karnataka (1783) and Maharashtra (1690) are the top three states with highest numbers of leopard.
- In a study it was found that there are four distinct sub-populations of leopards in India with high genetic variations-leopards of the Western Ghats, the Deccan Plateau semi-arid region, the Shivalik mountains, and the Terai region in North India.
By – Kameshwar Shukla