Yet another leopard skin seizure this week in the northern India State of Uttarakhand has added to a deadly year for the species in the region. Uttarakhand along with neighbouring State to the west, Himachal Pradesh, and the country of Nepal to the East, is central to a serious hotspot for leopard mortality. There was a leopard skin seizure in Nepal within 24 hours of the latest Uttarakhand incident.
— WildTiger (@WildTigerNews) August 22, 2018
The Indian leopard (panthera pardus fusca) is suffering from poaching, retaliation killings (human-wildlife conflict) and habitat loss along the Himalayan belt. WildTiger will bring a report on the issue in due course. Seizures are only an indication of trafficking levels in a region where steep terrain and challenging climatic conditions make anti-poaching efforts difficult.