Jawai - Land of the Leopard
Channel: Rajeev De Roy - Wildlife & Nature
Date: 2021-12-26

In India’s north-western state of Rajasthan, deep in the hinterland, is a dam which straddles the Jawai River. Surrounding the resultant waterbody are two-billion year old granite hills, dotted with shrubs and cacti, making for an astonishing landscape. 

This is #leopard  country. The labyrinthine network of caves and fissures that pock-mark the ancient hills are home to the wild beasts, concentrated in a 30 sq.km region. At the base of the hills live the nomadic pastoral Rabari tribe, mainly cattle herders by profession.

The Jawai region is neither a National Park nor a #wildlife  sanctuary; yet humans and leopards have co-existed in peaceful harmony over centuries. There has been no recorded human kill for 200 years.

Spotting and filming (albeit as an amateur hobbyist) wildlife in India has always been an exhilarating experience; but to catch leopards in unprotected wilderness is something else altogether. This video was shot in November 2021.

There are three separate leopard sightings in the video:
00:00 Intro to Jawai
00:57 Close-up leopard sighting
02:41 Night sighting of leopard
05:06 Female leopard and two cubs

#indianwildlife  #rajeevderoy