There are only a handful of places in the world where seeing a cat as elusive as a leopard is close to reliable. At first glance, the low rocky hillocks on the southern fringe of Rajasthan look nothing like a wildlife sanctuary, let alone a place that all but promises leopards. But the more I looked beneath the surface at Bera, the clearer its appeal became.
For anyone used to wildlife parks, the first surprise at Bera is that there are no typical jeep safaris. Jeeps and cars are used, but only to carry you to the point of a sighting. The leopards make their homes in the hillocks, and you usually sit on an opposite hillock to watch and photograph them.
The leopards sleep inside the hillocks by day and come out at night to hunt or move around. Early mornings and late evenings are the best times, when they come into the open for those of us waiting on them. Their prey includes stray dogs and, at times, local cattle.
What makes Bera remarkable is the long-standing coexistence of people and leopards. For many years there has not been a single case of a leopard killing a person, or of locals killing a leopard, which is striking given how closely their habitats overlap. The hillocks sit right beside small villages, and although the leopards even enter these villages to take dogs, they have never attacked anyone. Local people have found several sighting points spread across an area of more than 400 square kilometres. These are some of my leopard moments at Bera.
Once you have had your fill of leopards, Bera also has rich birdlife along the banks of Jawai Lake. Flamingos and other water birds are a regular sight, and there have been recent reports of rarities such as the sociable lapwing. Here are a few of my encounters.
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