Decoding the 2018 leopard census; is it too early to celebrate? Decoding the 2018 leopard census; is it too early to celebrate? | India Today Insight The ‘Status of Leopards in India, 2018’ report says the big cat’s numbers have risen sharply to 12,852 from 7,910 in the previous census, but not all wildlife experts are convinced advertisement A leopard at the Panna Tiger Reserve, 2018 (Ajay Tiwari) Union minister for environment, forests and climate change Prakash Javadekar has declared the findings of the leopard census, pegging the population of the big cat in the country at 12,852. Releasing the ‘Status of Leopards in India, 2018’ report on December 21, Javadekar said that leopard numbers had recorded an over 60 per cent increase over the last census, for which data was collected in 2014 alongside the tiger census. The previous census had put India’s leopard population (surveyed areas, largely minus the Northeast) at 7,910. “The increase in the population of tigers, lions and leopards over the past few years is a testimony to the fledgling wildlife and biodiversity,” Javadekar tweeted.