The Week India – July 14, 2019

NATURE

LEOPARD CENSUS

I

t was past 1am. I had been sitting

on a cramped machan (viewing

platform atop a tree) in Jhala-

na Leopard Sanctuary, Jaipur,

since 8am the previous day. Though

peafowl, mongooses and nilgais went

past my reach, leopards stayed away.

Finally, at around 1:30am, a

leopard sauntered towards the water

hole close to my machan. Wasting no

time, I clicked her. She twitched her

ear and slunk away. But I got a pic-

ture of her by moonlight. Later, I was

told that her name is Mrs Khaan.

Named after an abandoned stone

quarry, Mrs Khaan is one among the

30 leopards who inhabit the 33sq.km

sanctuary. Inaugurated in October

2018, Jhalana sanctuary is a pilot

project of the Rajasthan govern-

ment’s Project Leopard. It was earlier

classified as a reserve that allowed

unrestricted entry for people, says

Sudarshan Sharma, deputy conser-

vator of forests. After being elevated

as a sanctuary, the entry is restricted

and ticketed.

I, and 41 others, was participating

in the annual leopard census. Twenty

one machans had been set up in

different locations in the sanctuary;

two people per machan, a forest

department official and a volunteer.

Our watch was for 24 hours. We

were given elaborate charts to enter

sightings.

Apart from Mrs Khaan, the other

popular inhabitants of Jhalana

include Katappa, named after a

cut in his ear, and Flora, who has a

flower-shaped mark on her forehead.

I came across Flora the next day, dur-

ing a safari, while she was feasting on

a peafowl. Then there is the Prince of

Jhalana—the most camera-friend-

ly one. I did not get to meet him,

though. Aarti was the first leopard

to be named in the sanctuary. She is

Into the wild

Meeting Mrs Khaan and other inhabitants

of Jhalana Leopard Sanctuary

TEXT AND PHOTOS BY SANJAY AHLAWAT

54 THE WEEK • JULY 14, 2019