Vanishing Corridors and Resilient Predators: A Systematic Review of Leopard Ecology and Habitat Connectivity in the Anthropogenic Aravalli Landscape

Abstract

For decades, the Aravalli Range has served as a silent, rugged spine across Northwest India, yet its role as a primary wildlife thoroughfare is often overshadowed by its proximity to the National Capital Region's concrete expansion. This review synthesizes thirty years of ecological data, satellite imagery, and corridor-mapping studies to evaluate the current status of the Indian Leopard (Panthera pardus) within this increasingly fragmented mountain system. We examine the transition of the Aravallis from a continuous forest belt into a series of "ecological islands" separated by high-traffic highways and illegal mining pits. By comparing historical range data with contemporary sightings in the Delhi-Gurgaon-Sariska belt, this paper highlights a remarkable behavioral plasticity in apex predators—moving from deep-forest dwellers to "edge-species" surviving in the shadows of urbanization. However, the review warns that this resilience has a ceiling. We argue that without a legally protected, trans-boundary "Wildlife Corridor" that ignores state borders between Haryana and Rajasthan, the genetic isolation of these populations is inevitable. This paper concludes by advocating for a shift in policy: moving away from localized "parks" and toward a landscape-scale conservation model that recognizes the Aravallis as a singular, living breathing entity.