Meeting Mrs Khaan and other inhabitants of Jhalana Leopard Sanctuary
It 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 picture 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 government’s Project Leopard. It was earlier classified as a reserve that allowed unrestricted entry for people, says Sudarshan Sharma, deputy conservator of forests. After being elevated as a sanctuary, the entry is restricted and ticketed.
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