Through Leopards’ Lair

Budding friendships

I was perhaps one of the first photographers to explore Jhalana, which is why I have been able to document some of the most well-known leopards of the region. In 2016, Jhalana was all about Flora, the erstwhile queen, before her daughter, Juliet, stole the limelight in 2018, carrying her mother’s legacy forward. Juliet was possibly the most daring female I had ever seen in Jhalana. She had one sister, Cleopatra, who was quite timid in her approach, and not as tourist-friendly as her sister. When I was doing my research work in Jhalana in 2018 and closely observing Juliet, I was baffled by her boldness. Practically every time I entered the park premise, I was greeted by her. It almost felt as if she was getting used to me. When Juliet was in the tourism zone, she would never let any other female leopard settle down in her area, except for her mother and sister. Although I am aware that it takes years to understand the ecology of big cats, after having followed Juliet for a substantial amount of time, I can say that I was able to grasp her movement patterns to some extent. Leopards are inscrutable big cats, much shyer than tigers and lions, but if you can manage to win their trust and they sense that you are not a threat, the leopard will most likely connect with you.

I am privileged to have experienced this connection with Juliet. An incident that highlighted this bond occurred in July 2018, when I was on an evening drive. The atmosphere was placid, the muddy track fenced on both sides with scrubby vegetation. I encountered Flora at around 5 pm. She was trying to cross the road.

Flora appeared to be pregnant during that period. After she had finally moved back into the thicket, everyone was elated about having seen her at such close quarters. Most people decided to leave as it was getting dark, even though there were still 15 minutes left for the park to close its gates. It is said that when you are on a safari, it’s always best to wait till the very last moment before leaving, since a lot can happen in the five minutes before the park closes. So I decided to stay back. After a few minutes, I heard an urgent alarm call from the langurs nearby. As I was trying to figure out if it was Juliet or some other leopard I knew, my driver suddenly pointed out some movement in the thicket nearby. It was Juliet! She was trying to remain secluded, and later on, we found out that she had made a recent kill, which explained the seclusion. She came out of hiding for a brief moment before disappearing into the dark. Since the other jeeps had already left the park, I was the only one who was present and who was blessed enough to get a chance to photograph Juliet. I’d personally like to believe that she wouldn’t have come out of the bushes had it been someone else in my place!

Back with a vengeance

Though Jhalana remains open throughout the year, I usually prefer to visit in the monsoon period because a majority of the other Protected Areas are closed due to heavy rain during this season, and the jungle turns lush green, providing the perfect contrast for leopard photographs. But with COVID-19 halting my plans in 2020, I couldn’t make it to Jhalana in the monsoon and decided to go during winter instead. It was early December; although the usual northern cold wave hadn’t started yet, the mornings were still a bit chilly. Since my previous safari hadn’t been that successful, I was hoping to get some good pictures on my upcoming morning drive. Excited, we entered the park premises bright and early at 6 am. It was quite cold and the forest was engulfed with a thick blanket of haze, as we had expected.

At first, we spotted chattering common babblers along with grey francolins. A herd of nilgai were grazing in a grassy patch and a couple of grey langurs were munching on fruit in the trees above. After roaming around for about an hour without any success, we decided to take a different route and ultimately reached Zone 2. As soon as we entered, we saw the fresh pugmarks of a leopard. We moved farther ahead to investigate and saw a queue of jeeps standing near a watering hole (locally called the ‘Illegal Waterhole’). While talking to the other tourists, we discovered that a leopard had been seen moving towards the Illegal Waterhole. But since the surrounding foliage was quite dense, the leopard might have hidden somewhere secluded. Thus, we decided to wait there for a while in the hope of photographing the leopard. After about 20 minutes, suddenly, we heard a strong alarm call by nilgai nearby. We promptly decided to move towards the place where the alarm call was sounded. Within a split second, I noticed some movement amidst the bushes and was finally able to spot the leopard.

It was the reigning Prince of Jhalana—Simba! Although he was initially trying his best to remain secluded, he finally emerged from the bushes and attempted to ambush the nilgai. Later on, he changed his mind and slowly moved towards the watering hole in order to quench his thirst. What a sight that was for a photographer! Born to Flora (Queen of Jhalana), Simba was young but bold, following his mother’s legacy.

Simba was not disturbed by our presence, spending about 15 minutes at the watering hole before vanishing into the dense canopy. With a few exceptions, the leopards residing in Jhalana are quite bold and tourist-friendly, which is the most striking feature of this small forested land amidst the busy city of Jaipur. This particular sighting was in such close proximity that it was quite a challenge for photographers using the 600 mm lens.

Simba was such a dominant young male that he made his presence felt every time I visited Jhalana. He used to be majorly sighted in Zone 2, but in the year 2021, he was challenged by another young male, Rana, and there was a massive fight between the two animals. Eventually, Simba lost the battle and was forced to leave his territory in Zone 2. The locals say that after 2021, Simba went on to settle down in Zone 3 where his sightings are not as frequent. One day, perhaps, he might return with a vengeance and take back his original territory.

Boldness at its best

In the early monsoon of 2021, I was on my first afternoon safari in Jhalana. The weather was pleasant with overcast conditions, but I was slightly skeptical, as a sudden passing shower could ruin my entire safari.

Trying to stay optimistic, we entered Zone 2 and were in the process of tracking down a female leopard that was sighted the previous evening. Since it was a weekday, Jhalana was completely devoid of local crowds and other tourists. Consequently, I was quite happy to be able to enjoy the serenity inside the park.

Our driver cum naturalist had been leaning over the door of the vehicle for a while, examining a large set of pugmarks and muttering under his breath. It seemed that a female leopard might have crossed the road a few minutes earlier. Our naturalist decided to wait for a while. After about 15 minutes, we decided to move ahead and entered Zone 1. As soon as we were there, we were informed that Flora had been sighted by some jeeps a little while ago, but our naturalist thought that we should keep an eye out for other leopards as well. Hence, we started moving towards the mining area. Another jeep approaching from the other side signalled us to move quickly. Our driver picked up the speed and reached the mining area right away. I saw a queue of 4–5 jeeps standing near the watchtower. Without wasting any time, I asked one of them what was going on and was informed that a male leopard was resting atop the watchtower. Our driver jumped to it and promptly entered the watchtower from the back.

From this angle, the leopard was clearly visible and I was told that this was Rana. I was completely mesmerised by his beauty and boldness. He seemed to be resting after a heavy meal. Since there were only 4–5 jeeps, I didn’t have much trouble capturing the moment. And what a moment it was! Rana was in his prime. His coat was neither yellow, nor orange, but a true buttery gold, like silk lit up from within. Most forests are full of surprises and beautiful, occasionally transcendent moments. But there is nothing that can beat the sighting of a leopard perched on an abandoned watchtower. Rana was so comfortable in his resting position that he only lifted his head a few times when the other jeeps reached the watch tower, not bothering to leave his majestic perch. The thrill of photographing this urban leopard in his makeshift lair was remarkable.

This series of images demonstrates the boldness of this young male leopard. One thing I must say, though, is that Rana wasn’t as bold when he was first sighted in the tourist-designated area. It is possible that the battle with Simba changed his approach significantly.

(Excerpted with permission from Soham Chakraborty’s Urban Leopards of Jhalana; published by Niyogi Books)