Introduction

Madhya Pradesh state have highest leopard population in compare to any other states of India thus it is also referred as leopard state of India. They are counted among prominent big cat species after tiger. They are basically arboreal thus during jeep safaris, their sighting on ground is not easy. Another major reason behind difficult sighting is the presence of tiger. Being wildlife lovers, we all prefers tiger sighting thus explore the critical tiger habitats. At such locations, due to threat, leopards try to spend more time on trees and less time on ground thus their sighting is not easy. Their sighting will be comparatively easy at buffer zones and mostly during night safari drives. At Madhya Pradesh, we can find them at almost all the tiger reserves and most of the wildlife sanctuaries. Here in India, Jaguars are not found thus during safari, we will not have any recognition problem and no other reason of confusion is present in these forests. Here grey langurs are the most helpful animal for guides to track the leopards presence.

Where to search

Leopard safari can be done at any of the national parks in Madhya Pradesh. The place where tiger population is high, leopard sighting will be difficult like Bandhavgarh national park core zones, Kanha national park. The safari zones with rocky sites like Kisli zone of Kanha national park, Madhai zone of Satpura national park, Touria zone of Pench national park are some of the good place to try for capturing leopards photograps. Despite of all, we have to accept the fact that leopard photography is more difficult than tigers photography.

Good time to see

Leopards are mostly arboreal thus like tigers, we can't find them easily near water holes thus their sighting probability is not mainly dependent on climatic conditions but still summers are slightly better because of dryness in forest will enhance our visibility. At the same time in winters, if we are doing safaris on a hilly-rocky terrain, then we will have good chance to find them enjoying morning sunlight at some rock top. Such sightings are mostly noticed at Touria zone of Pench national park or at Panna national parks. Most of the sightings at Bandhavgarh or Kanha national park are of quick road crossing which doen't even allow to click the photos. At Satpura national park, Madhai zone is ideal for leopard safaris due to rocky sites, close to safari trails.

About

Please check below given table to learn some vital details and characteristic features.