Indian Leopard (Panthera pardus fusca)

[Pckts]

Shaaz Jung Photography

Deep in the woods, you are never alone.

*This image is copyright of its original author

This Followed
"I’ve been extremely busy off late setting up Camps in the Serengeti and its made me miss home! I decided to drop into Kabini over the weekend for 2 game drives. The forest felt empty without Euco, an eerie silence could be felt in his territory and i could have sworn his ghost was still walking the windy and desolate roads. Despite his absence, it was great to see one our favourite Leopards and Bella the tigress with her two cubs (Eucos cubs).
The beauty of being home is the ability to track these cats. Iv been gone a month and sightings have been poor over the past week but we knew where to look. Spotting the animal was a different story but we were sure they were in certain areas and with just six hours of safari to go on (before i went back to Africa to lead our last group), i had to make them count.
Torn Ears was our best chance of seeing a leopard in August’s thick foliage. Just like Scarface, as Torn Ears gets older, he prefers to stay on the ground and not climb as many trees as he once did. As they get larger and heavier, they prefer to rest on larger and more concrete places where their body weight is spread more evenly. Fortunately for torn ears he has an old chola temple and a number of tribal strictures and abandoned houses with large flat surfaces where he now loves to rest on. His territory over the past year has shrunk by almost 30% and he isn’t hard to find.
The first hour was silent. We covered most of his territory including the Temple and a few of his favourite spots. Halfway through our game drive we decided to take a turn towards a small stream where tribals often washed their clothes and used the water to supply their homes. The stream always had a calming affect on me and the flow of water through the dense forests was as tranquil as it gets. We enjoyed the serenity before a langur sparked chaos. The monkey cackled as he looked at a small cement structure which roomed a water pump that was used to siphon water from the stream. On it sat an enormous leopard, none other than Mr Torn Ears.
The next few minutes were as scary as they were magical. For the first time in six years, this leopard looked frighteningly angry and he wasn't shy in letting us know. He sat with us for a while, snarling away before we reversed our car and allowed him to descend.
After the sighting i sat and wondered why Torn Ears was unusually angry. The next morning the nearby tribals had informed us of a deer kill behind the Pump House and how they were afraid to collect water that day as they would hear sounds from the lantana if they went close. Unfortunately i left the next morning but i learnt never to go near a leopard when he’s on his kill."

*This image is copyright of its original author

Reply