Editor Mr.Mayank Rawat ( Chief Editor Mr. Rohit Mishra )
New Delhi: In the backyard of the capital, about 20 minutes’ drive from Greater Kailash II, leopards prowl freely. Not a single stray cat, but 13-14 permanent residents as suggested by the images captured by camera traps.
A significant shift occurred around 2020 when foresters observed some unusual occurrences — changes in the behaviour of blackbucks, nilgai and feral dogs, claims of leopard sightings and the occasional paw marks led to speculation that the apex predators of the Aravali had returned home to the fringes of the city.Leopards have also been spotted in comparatively smaller habitats in the city in the Yamuna biodiversity parks and in north Delhi’s Jagatpur, which caused public anxiety. But the Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary in south Delhi alone has become the permanent home of Panthera pardus fusca.
This silver cloud comes with its own grey lining. The reclaiming of Asola by this near-threatened species, protected under the Indian Wildlife Protection Act’s Schedule I, has increased human-wildlife conflict, causing fear and anxiety among the residents living close to the sanctuary.
Wildlife biologist Lynette Gomes, project associate with the forest department, is carrying out research with Delhi University on how Delhiites perceive their nearness to the leopards. “We are currently trying to ascertain the people’s perspective on man-animal conflicts,” said Gomes. “We are getting mixed views, where some advocate adjustment while others want the leopards out. To create awareness, a nature information centre has been proposed at Asola. Our goal is to make people understand that we have to share our landscape.”
Gomes added there were lessons to be learnt from the example of Mumbai’s Sanjay Gandhi National Park, which has a density of over 26.3 leopards per 100 sq km and abuts on residential areas. A project named ‘Living with leopards in the capital’ has also been commissioned, with organisations like the Wildlife Conservation Society being roped in.
“Being a versatile predator, leopards move very easily across habitats, so we are preparing the forest department to handle cases of conflicts based on learnings from the Mumbai model,” said Gomes. “Last year, 40 forest staff were sent to Mumbai to learn firsthand how people cope with the human-animal conflict. There are challenges for Delhi though because in Maharashtra, people are more sympathetic to wildlife and there are ancient beliefs in Waghoba, a tiger/leopard deity. In Delhi, we have to convince people about co-existence. We have to start from schools and colleges. The acceptance and awareness won’t happen overnight. Mumbai itself took two decades to work this out.”
According to ecologist Sohail Madan, director, WildTales Foundation, who ran the Bombay Natural History Society centre at Asola, awareness and education remain major tools needed to help people develop a deeper appreciation for Delhi’s wild spaces and change perceptions.
Solid evidence was found in Aug 2021 when some camera traps captured an adult leopard wandering in the forest at Asola Bhatti, making it the first such picture-based proof that leopards were indeed combing the sanctuary. “What confirmed the presence of the big cat were primarily leopards caught in road accidents, mostly at the southern side of the sanctuary on the Gurgaon-Faridabad highway,” said Amit Anand, former deputy conservator of forest with jurisdiction over Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary. “The secondary sources were people claiming to have sighted the animal. Around 2020-21, when more people said they spotted the leopards, we installed camera traps, and these indeed confirmed the cats were visiting the area.”
Once their presence was confirmed, the forest department began exploring the leopard’s movement to understand its trail. “We camera-trapped other animals to observe their behaviour, such as those of blackbuck and nilgai, etc, especially of the leopard’s prey base. We found that the leopards visited all parts of the sanctuary, but their movement was more like short brief visits — they would come to Asola, move around and go towards Haryana,” said Anand.
On Nov 15, 2021, forest guards found the carcass of a calf with a big hole on its neck and stomach. A camera trap was installed near the carcass. “Around 2 am, the leopard that had killed the calf returned to claim its hunt. It confirmed that leopards were not just visitors but were also hunting in the sanctuary,” the forester who spotted the carcass told TOI.
To make Asola habitable for the spotted cat, a crusade against the invasive lantana shrub and vilayati kikar tree was started even as plantation to support herbivores began. Old bunds were repaired to conserve water and rain channels, ponds and waterholes were revived. Uncontrolled access and excessive movement through Asola were minimised. The forest department posted more personnel on the ground and enhanced the budget to revive the habitat.
The efforts paid off. In 2022, a report by BNHS and the forest department confirmed the presence of eight permanent resident leopards at Asola. The study also found that Asola then with a leopard density of 4.5 animals per 100 sq km was doing better than national parks and tiger reserves, such as Bandhavgarh (3), Dachigam (2.8) and Sariska (3.1). Jan 2023 brought more good news, with two newborn cubs spotted in the sanctuary; field biologists described this as the first documented leopard birth in Asola.
Wildlife Institute of India is carrying out a more detailed study to establish the leopard population, which camera traps suggest is 13-14 cats. “After efforts to make Asola more habitable, safe and intrusion-free for leopards, a recent study showed that their population has almost doubled in the past three years, as has the population of other species. Leopards are being spotted every day,” claimed Vipul Pandey, deputy conservator of forests, South, and in charge of the sanctuary. He also pointed out that the leopards were attracting visitors to the sanctuary.
“Leopards returning to Asola Bhatti is a quiet but powerful sign that when landscapes are given time, care, and intention, nature finds its way back,” said Madan, who was part of the 2022 study on leopards at the sanctuary. “This revival is the outcome of consistent work over many years, guided by ecological understanding and a strong sense of purpose, especially in a city as dynamic and pressured as Delhi.”
Madan said, “The forest department worked to slow down soil erosion, recharge groundwater through check dams, and install water points that would support wildlife through the dry months. At the same time, steps were taken to reduce human pressure — limiting trespass and disturbance — which gave animals the chance to move freely again. The leopards, quiet and seldom seen, have come to symbolise the sanctuary’s quiet resurgence.”
Wildlife biologist Sumit Dookia, associate professor at Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, who too was part of the 2022 study, believes that disturbance in the neighbouring habitats is one of reasons the leopards have returned to Asola. “To Asola’s east in neighbouring Faridabad’s are Anandpur and Pali village and in the south, Gurgaon’s Mangar and Gwal Pahari areas. They are like an extended habitat of Asola,” said Dookia. “However, while a part of the Aravali, they are open forests with heavy human movement, even real estate development. Being the top consumer in this landscape, the leopard enjoyed full security and patronage of the foresters only in Asola.”
The biologist said that while present in the area for ages, somewhere in the fast-paced urbanisation, the forest conservation suffered. With the effort put in to make conditions better for the leopard and aided by better management, Asola was able to attract the spotted cats again. “It’s an indicator for Delhi as a city. It highlights the fact that there is a healthy ecosystem here,” said Dookia.
Of course, Asola or Aravali is not the only habitat of the leopard in the city. There is also the Yamuna belt. Wildlife biologist Faiyaz Khudsar pointed out that while a very strong buffer area created by the restoration of Delhi Development Authority’s Tilpath Valley Biodiversity Park supported the proliferation of resident leopards in Asola, the other end of the city, a large extent of the Yamuna floodplain, also supports vagrant individuals of the species.
“The expansive restored area at DDA’s Yamuna Biodiversity Park saw a leopard sighting in 2016. The big cat stayed there for more than 20 days and killed two nilgai calves,” said Khudsar. “A leopard was also reported last year around the park. Even this winter, sporadic pugmarks were observed. This shows that both the landscapes, Aravali and Yamuna, have the potential to support leopards if they are properly restored.”
Mayank Rawat
