Leopards are solitary, adaptable and opportunistic hunters, and India is one of the best places in the world to see them. They are smaller than tigers and lions, but more versatile: they live in almost any habitat and are the most at home in trees of all the big cats, often resting on a branch through the heat of the day.
In India the leopard is known as tendua, and sometimes guldaar, a nod to the rose-shaped rosettes on its coat. Its stealth makes it a formidable predator, and as wild land shrinks, leopards increasingly turn up around villages and take livestock.
India’s 2022 census put the leopard population at more than 13,000, spread across states including Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan. Tiger safaris get the attention, but a good leopard sighting is every bit as rewarding. Here are five of the best places to look.
1. Kabini
Kabini, in Karnataka, is one of the state’s finest reserves and a reliable place for leopards, with perhaps a hundred in the area.
It is also famous for its black panther, a melanistic leopard known locally as the “ghost of Kabini”. Part of Nagarhole National Park, Kabini has leopards at densities to rival its tigers, and you may also see Bengal tiger, gaur, barking deer and mugger crocodile.
2. Bandipur, Karnataka
Bandipur, a former royal hunting ground, is now a key reserve in the Nilgiri Biosphere, bordering Mudumalai, Nagarhole and Wayanad.
Its deciduous forest, at the meeting of the Deccan Plateau and the Western Ghats, suits leopards, which are seen often. You may also find dhole, sloth bear, four-horned antelope and a good tiger population, against the backdrop of the Western Ghats.
3. Satpura, Madhya Pradesh
Satpura, in central India, takes its name from the Satpura hills. Its forests, gorges, sandstone ridges and ravines make dramatic country.
Though it is a tiger reserve, many come for the leopards, whose numbers have risen in recent years, making sightings frequent. You may also see mouse deer, sambar, blackbuck and flying squirrel.
4. Pench, Madhya Pradesh
Pench, in the teak forests of Madhya Pradesh, offers a quiet, uncrowded safari. It is named for the Pench River that runs through it.
On a drive you may catch a leopard resting in a tree or crossing the track; a melanistic leopard has been seen in the Telia buffer zone. Bengal tiger, Indian wolf, striped hyena and dhole are also here.
5. Jhalana, Jaipur
Jhalana is a small dry-forest reserve in the Aravalli hills, right on the edge of Jaipur, and it holds a notably high density of leopards, seen both inside the park and on its fringes.
The leopards here are used to people and are sometimes seen near the city at night, though attacks are rare. You may also see striped hyena, Indian wolf, sloth bear and nilgai. Its big advantage is convenience: it is a short drive from Jaipur, and a safari takes only a few hours.
Seeing a wild leopard is a real thrill. The species is under pressure worldwide from poaching for skins and bones, so visiting parks like these as a responsible traveller helps support their protection.
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