The monsoon has cast its green spell on the dry deciduous forest of Jhalana forest reserve, barely a 15-20 minute drive East of the Pink City.
We are on a leopard trail. We had seen it snoozing on a tree during the morning safari, through a veil of leafy branches. It was also a delight to see numerous birds as they chirped, foraged for insects or flew around the forest, fragrant from rains the day before. Enthused by the rare sighting of a striped hyena, we decided to push our luck and check out any leopard on hunt in the evening safari.
Surendra Chouhan, local conservationist, wildlife photographer and author of Jhalana – Land of Leopard, piqued our excitement by showing us a recent picture he had shot. It was of a leopard dragging a nilgai up a tree inthe same forest. He guided us to follow the alarmed screams of peafowl in our chase to see the wild cat, and manoeuvred us through the undulating terrain. But we would have almost missed the adrenaline rush if not for Manoj Pandey, a veteran of safaris from Delhi, who caught a glimpse of the leopard lurking in the tall grass. From then on it was a game of hide-and-seek; waiting, watching and chasing.
Indian peafowl, Pavo cristatus on a tree, Jhalana, Rajasthan, India
As dusk descended over the hills of the Aravalli that border much of the 24-square kilometre forest, we were all ears and straining our eyes in the fading light. “Hold on tight,” said Surendra as the driver raced up the muddy track and stopped at a vantage point.
There it appeared onto the track, crossing our path gracefully just a few metres from the jeep. Suddenly it paused, turned its head and looked straight at us with its piercing eyes. Before our gasps became louder, it moved on and got lost in the thick of the forest.For us, the thrill of sighting a leopard in the wilderness for the first time was enough. But not for Surendra who whispered, “let’s go to the other side as its out for a hunt”. So, we went looking for the leopard again, driving through thickets of grassland, and trees of dhonk, babool and khejri .
The Jhalana forest reserve is the pilot project of the Rajasthan Government’s Project Leopard, and is the first of its kind in India. It was open to the public for leopard safaris on May 15, 2017. When Project Leopard was announced in the 2017-2018 budget session, it comprised eight leopard sanctuaries. The leopard is an endangered animal under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act 1972.
Chosen project
Out of the three chosen for pilot projects, namely Jhalana (Jaipur), Jaisamand sanctuary (Udaipur) and Kumbhalgarh-Raoli Todgarh sanctuary (Ajmer-Udaipur), only Jhalana was implemented. On World Animal Day on October 4, it was officially launched by the then Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje and inaugurated by then Forest Minister GS Khimsar. “The aim is to protect the leopard, its habitat and reduce human-animal conflict,” said Sudarshan Sharma, Deputy Conservator of Forests, Jaipur. Among amenities for tourists, wildlife lovers can display their photographs of Jhalana at the gallery of the newly-constructed Interpretation Centre.
She is known as cleopatra in jhalana. And she was lazy that afternoon when we sighted her.
With an official estimate of 25-30 leopards in Jhalana, it is rapidly gaining popularity due to regular leopard sightings. Though the leopard is an elusive and solitary animal, that usually roams a large area, it’s incredible that Jhalana has such a high density in a small area. In the morning, our guide, Rohit Gangwal, who offers jeep safaris (World of Wilders), was a link between us and the marvels of Jhalana’s winged friends. We got to spot numerous birds, including a pair of brownish spotted owls.
It was visually pleasing to see the bluish Eurasian roller, Indian pitta with its nine colours, jungle francolin, grey-headed lapwing, gregarious jungle babbler, Brahminy starling, grey wagtail and green bee-eater among many others. The Indian hoopoe, once common in human habitats, had to make evolutionary changes to its lifestyle and move to forests, as excessive use of pesticide has shrunk its food base in urban areas. “We have even driven our birds out of our neighbourhood,” said Rohit. On passing the Kalimata temple inside the forest, where alcohol is offered to the deity, Rohit drew our attention to carelessly scattered pieces of glass that could injure animals.
Driving through the waterholes, we saw the shikra, a raptor perched on a tree branch nearby munching on its prey. Known to kill prey with great speed and accuracy, it has inspired the Indian Navy to name one of its helicopter bases INS Shikra.
What was conspicuous by its absence were deer and sambhars, normal prey for leopards. “Sambhar is the favourite of leopards, but its absence here makes them do with peafowl that are found in abundance,” said Surendra.
Their dietary spectrum includes peafowl, blue bull, langurs, hares and squirrels. A peafowl weighing four to five kilograms could mitigate a leopard’s hunger for two to three days.
Pointing at the hunting lodge standing tall on the hill, he shared an anecdote about how the last tigress was killed by the erstwhile Maharani Gayatri Devi of Jaipur in 1948.
