India, July 7 -- A slew of targeted conservation efforts can help boost leopard numbers in sub-Saharan Africa; a new study has found.

Conservation scientists at Nottingham Trent University in the United Kingdom estimated that there could be 45,000 to 143,000 leopards in the wild - lower than previous estimates - but that, encouragingly, Africa could potentially support up to 176,000 leopards within their historical range if appropriate conservation steps are taken.

According to the team, their numbers are not the same as a population count. That is because a lot of the data relates to protected areas which tend to have healthier ecosystems for leopards than areas where people live and farm.

"Leopards were less common in areas with high...