A wildlife lovers delight, primarily one can see leopards as
kings and queens of the land without tigers troubling them. We went with Sashank
Birla as our guide, he picked us up and dropped us back to Udaipur. (search his handles on Instagram, his website and his Facebook page). He specialises
in safaris in game sanctuaries. We stayed at Jawai Greens, a cosy little resort in the middle of the Leopard Conservancy.
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| A leopard in silhouette |
There is then the anecdote of a Bishnoi (or Rabari) who
considers it a privilege for a leopard to take his goat (apart from the
compensation paid by the government). There is a single case of a leopard
attacking a human and that was when he tried to drag away the leopard’s prey. |
A Rabadri
Distinguished by their red turbans |
J
awai is located about 3-4 hours from Udaipur in Pali
District. This is a rock-strewn area with hillocks, mainly of stone and
sometimes of mud all over. With the rains recently abating the lakes and
streams are full as are just about any potholes.  |
| Reflection of a tree |
It is mainly about leopards. Each of them has a name and we
saw and identified Padma and her two cubs and another one (F2?). Though a
census of these cats has not been done, it is said there are about 60 in about
60 square kilometres.  |
| Padma and her two cubs |
Leopards are intelligent, very strong, and blazing fast. The spots are actually called rosettes which make a fine and intricate pattern against the pale fur. |
| Another pic of Padma and her two cubs |
As luck would have it, the leopards got progressively
closer, till the last one and her cubs was at a few meters distance.  |
| F2 is closer |
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| Padma's cub is closest |
But it is not all about leopards, one saw many other birds
and animals, Indian fox, Rusty spotted cat, langurs, nilgai, white-breasted
kingfisher, Eurasian roller, sirkeer malkoha, and much more. |
| Sirkeer Malkoha |
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| Indian Fox |
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| Rusty Spotted cat (possibly the smallest cat in the world) |
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| Dragonfly |
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| Indian Eagle Owl |
Off-roading is at a very different and high level here, the
cars are all Gypsies, the driver (and all are trained in off-roading) took us
over the steepest rocks, water bodies and the thorns which were common. No
video or still does credit to the drivers of Jawai.  |
| Gypsy and driver |
J
awai Bandh is the place to go if one loves unspoiled (so far) nature.
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