DENIZENS OF THE ROCKS: LEOPARDS OF JAWAI.

 

The leopard is a magnificent animal. Of all the great cats the leopard stands out, beautifully proportioned, agile, ferocious, cunning and a survivor, adapts well to any terrain as well as human onslaughts. Be it forests, scrub-lands, rocky mountains or even the frigid Himalayas, leopards thrive everywhere.

The female F 2

Leopards are elusive creatures and a mere sight of them is considered lucky. In certain terrains, however, for example, rocky mountains with scrub vegetation, it is easier to see them as they inhabit caves that abound in the rocks and then they may be seen for extended periods of time.

One such place is Jawai, in Pali district of Rajasthan where leopard safaris have become very popular in the past few years.

The Jawai bandh leopard conservation reserve was notified in 2010, and covers approximately 20 square kms area. It has a high density of leopards with an estimated 50 to 60 individuals. Most of this land is privately owned with resorts in the core area, which may cause man-animal conflicts in the future.

Terrain of Jawai: Rock outcrops, Water bodies and mountains, dry thorny vegetation

The terrain is dominated by mountains and outcrops of granite with numerous caves that provide safe dwellings for the leopards and sloth bears which too are present in good numbers here. There are several water-bodies but the area is mainly semi-arid scrubland with dry, deciduous trees and thorn forests with Ber, Kikar, Cacti and the invasive Prosopis amongst the main trees seen.

As part of a Nature India trip to Mount Abu and Jawai, our group was fortunate to see a leopard family that enthralled us for several fascinating hours.

In Jawai we were booked for three safaris. A word about these safaris is pertinent at this stage. Open gypsy jeeps are used and their drivers are never happy unless the vehicle is zooming along at 80 kms! In the scrub-lands the paths are deeply rutted and the jeep swerves all the time to avoid the thorny trees that dot the landscape.

One has to hang on for dear life, bones rattling, muscles tense , minding the thorny branches that scrape the sides of the vehicle as the drivers race from place to place spurred on by news of possible leopard sitings. At several places there are no paths and the jeeps scale sheer rock.

Our first safari started at 6 am sharp. We were bundled up against the freezing cold air as the jeeps hurtled down the road from our hotel to Jawai Bandh railway station. This road runs straight as an arrow and is lined on either side with Neem trees. As one approaches Jawai a distinct mountain is seen with three peaks. Our first safari however was disappointing as not only did we not manage to spot even one leopard but just missed leopards on three occasions.

We set out for our second safari at 3 15 pm and as we approached Jawai our driver got a message that a leopard had been sighted at a place called Peacock point near the village of Bisalpur. We raced pell-mell towards that area arriving by about 3 45 pm and took our places behind several other jeeps that were already in position. A leopard could be seen on a flat ledge of a cave in a rock outcrop that also has large bee hives.

We heaved a sigh of relief, for at last, a leopard had been sighted. Little were we to know then that we would be guests for a Matinee for the next three hours where this leopard family consisting of the mother F2 (daughter of the famous Neelam who successfully littered several times and was the matriarch of Jawai) and her two cubs would enthrall us with a most satisfying sighting of this elusive creature.

The afternoon was hot and somnolence was in the air. F2 was enjoying her afternoon siesta on the warm rocky ledge that was bathed with warm sunshine. much alike human children the cubs did not relish the idea of sleep and now and then moved around trying to wake her up.

We were positioned such that the westerly light fell on the cave which made for good photography. Almost an hour and several photos later, F2 showed signs of awakening from her slumber and proceeded to clean herself meticulously all over. After this she promptly turned over and fell asleep again!

By now it was already an hour and a half into the show that seemed to be proceeding at a very sedate pace. Suddenly there was the revving of engines as several jeeps could be seen moving to another vantage point with a shout that movement was seen. Our jeep too took up a new position from where we could see that the family was on the move. The mother was urging the cubs to climb up a ledge of rock to go onto the other side of the rock outcrop.

Once again there was a rush by the jeeps to get to the other side which was sheer rock and we experienced some great driving by the drivers who most nonchalantly nosed the jeeps up the steep rocky slopes while we hung on for dear life with our heart in our mouth.

This marked the finale of the show with the mother and cubs appearing over the ridge of rock as if ‘taking a bow’ and then promptly clearing the stage by climbing down the steep rock face to go off for a drink of water (we were told by our guides). By now the sun had set and dusk was changing to night. We left Peacock point happy and satiated.

But it was not yet over. As we were nearing Bisalpur village the convoy of jeeps stopped as a large male leopard was seen fast asleep on a slab of rock halfway up the side of a mountain. It was too dark for photography but we had the satisfaction of seeing the entire family, mother and cubs and just as we left, probably the Sire.

In Jawai the leopard is not a fleeting shadow but a distinct presence, visible, self-possesed and at ease in a landscape shared with humans.