mid-day staffer Ranjeet Jadhav describes the exhilarating moment he captured the rare sight of a leopard feasting on its kill at Aarey
The large male leopard feasting on the remains of a dead buffalo calf. Pics/Ranjeet Jadhav
Camera traps have proven that these seven leopards are indeed permanent residents there. Over the years, while I have managed to spot a few of them a handful of times (they don't have the 'elusive' tag for nothing), my most memorable spotting was that of a leopard feasting on a kill.
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Pursuing passion
Four years ago, I started volunteering for a group led by Rajesh Sanap, who pioneered camera trapping in Aarey, and Imran Udat, who owns a cattle shed there. They have been monitoring leopard activity in the area for the Thane Forest Department (Territorial), using remote camera traps. I soon learnt how to set up a camera trap on trails inside Aarey that are frequented by wild animals. The cameras are set off by motion detectors and have helped us gather data of not just leopards, but other wild animals inside Aarey too.
Spotting my wildcat
Last week, while having dinner around 10 pm at my home in Andheri West, a friend, who is a resident of Aarey, informed me that just 10 minutes ago, a leopard had attacked a buffalo calf that had been tied outside the cattle shed. He said the leopard was now sitting on the wall a few metres away as the locals had gathered. I immediately left for Aarey with my camera. At 10.45 pm, when I reached the location, the cat had already left the spot, scared off by the people gathered there.
A leopard caught in a camera trap I had set up last year
I then realised that the cat would definitely return for its kill and decided to wait. I began to chat with the workers at the cattle shed and was told that it was the dogs in the area that had indicated the presence of the leopard. The workers told me when they went to check why the dogs had started barking suddenly, they were shocked to see that a leopard had grabbed the small calf and was dragging it away across the grass between the cattle shed and the wall.
Drama in real life
The crowd had dispersed by 11 pm and we hid ourselves in bales of hay at the shed. We could see the kill, around 60-70 feet away. Suddenly, in a dramatic moment, a brave dog decided to go take a bite of the unattended kill. As the dog was happily chomping on, we spotted the leopard stealthily walking on the wall, 30 feet from the dog. In two seconds, the leopard had jumped down and a face-off began between the dog and him. When the leopard charged forward, the dog fled.
The leopard then turned its attention towards the kill, even as the dog kept barking from a safe distance. For the next two hours I took in the rare sight of the big cat savouring its dinner.
Co-existing
Rampant development and degradation of their habitat has forced these leopards into human habitation to hunt. Thankfully, the tribal inhabitants of Aarey understand the necessity of co-existing peacefully with these beautiful creatures and seldom blame them for loss of their livestock.
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