Leopard with Cubs in Kanha National Park

At least on three occasions, I have come across a leopard with a single cub crossing the jungle road in Kanha National Park in Central India.  I work as a naturalist in Kanha and hence come across exciting moments during the tiger safari in the park. 

I remember when just after breakfast at Kanha Interpretation Centre we decided to explore link seven inhabited by the famous Naina tigress labeled T 76.  It was around 10 and we had an hour to go before leaving the place. The park closes at 11.30 AM every day and the jeeps have to be out of the park by then. 

Taking a chance as I always do we decided to venture into link 7 since most of the jeeps had departed for the gate and some were focusing at Bison road for Neelam tigress. I had seen leopards many times but this is the first time I came across a leopard with a cub.  In the simmering heat of April, we heard alarm cries near the Bela Chapper waterhole and stopped. 

                                                        Leopard With Cubs Mobile Video 

The leopard was looking straight at us much to our surprise it was sitting still. I was intrigued by his behavior as he was constantly turning around and peering into the bushes. There must be a kill I thought hidden in the bush. 

I instructed the driver to move back a little distance to make the leopard comfortable hoping that it would come out. We had not seen the cub till then. As we reversed the female panther started to cross the road and instead of vanishing in the bush like small predators always do she came to rest under the tree and began calling. We knew instantly that she was calling her cub. After a long wait, she moved back once again into the bush and then came out followed by a frightened cub who perhaps had encountered humans for the first time. 

We had great moments with the leopards and I could film them a few times. There are more leopard videos below for you to watch. The story has been always the same with the hesitant cub being coaxed to cross over.   

The videos tell their own stories and encounters like these happen after roaming in the wild for years. Guiding tourists in search of tigers and leopards is a herculean task and much depends upon experience, tracking skills, and of course luck. 

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Uday Freelances as Naturalist in Central India. He is an avid birder and tiger enthusiast. He blogs on tigers, wildlife, and birds. He also writes about the environment and conservation.

Uday also provides SEO Services and Website Contents in English. He teaches Digital Marketing in Jabalpur in Summer Holidays.
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Contact: pateluday90@hotmail.com
09755089323