India, Nov. 30 -- Confirming the presence of leopards in the Sukhna Wildlife Sanctuary (SWS), camera traps of the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Dehradun, secured at least four images of the big cat. Overall, an estimated 10,000 images were acquired utilising 36 camera traps during the eight-day Rapid Assessment of Biodiversity (wildlife survey) of UT Chandigarh.

Across the prominent taxa of birds and mammals, the assessment registered an increase from 67 and 11 to 117 and 14 species respectively with reference to the last wildlife survey of 2021. Sambars, the principal ungulate prey of leopards, were encountered in healthy numbers. At least two leopards are dwelling in the SWS, according to a WII preliminary assessment.

The WII exp...