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Catwalk: Leopards Persist at Moderate Densities While Exhibiting Temporal Segregation From Humans in Telangana's
Nilanjan Basu1, Imran Siddiqui1,2, Prasanth Bajirao Patil3
1Hyderabad Tiger Conservation Society (HyTiCoS) Hyderabad Telangana India.
Ecology and Evolution
|July 15, 2026
Summary
Leopards persist in human-dominated forests, showing temporal segregation from humans and livestock. Conservation planning requires understanding their density and behavior for coexistence.
Area of Science:
- Wildlife Ecology
- Conservation Biology
- Mammalogy
Background:
- Large carnivores like leopards (Panthera pardus) are vital for ecosystem health but face range-wide declines.
- Human-dominated landscapes pose challenges for carnivore conservation, necessitating density and behavioral studies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To estimate leopard density in human-dominated forest patches.
- To analyze temporal activity patterns and overlap with prey, humans, livestock, and other predators.
Main Methods:
- Camera trapping (37 traps, 1243 trap nights) in Ichoda Forest Division, Telangana, India.
- Spatially explicit capture-recapture (SECR) models to estimate leopard density.
- Diel activity analysis to assess temporal partitioning.
Main Results:
- Leopard density estimates ranged from 6.37 to 8.56 individuals/100 km².
- Significant temporal segregation observed between leopards and humans/livestock.
- Leopards showed greater temporal overlap with common prey and sympatric carnivores.
Conclusions:
- A moderate leopard population exists in this human-impacted landscape, utilizing temporal partitioning for coexistence.
- Continued human activity may threaten this coexistence; management is crucial.
- A holistic approach integrating conservation, sustainable use, and eco-tourism is recommended for human-leopard coexistence.
Keywords:
Telanganacamera trapcoexistencediel activityhumanpopulationspatially‐explicit capture‐recaptureMore Related Videos
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