Spotted in the city: What draws leopards to Bengaluru? Premium

Earlier this year a leopard spotted near Kengeri was captured by the forest department. Two leopards were found prowling in the outskirts of the city last year too – one in the Turahalli state forest area and the other not far from the Kempegowda International Airport. In February 2016, a leopard entered the VIBGYOR school in Whitefield.

After the efforts to capture a leopard found near Kudlu Gate resulted in its death, yet another big cat has been reportedly sighted near Chikka Togur off NICE road.

Earlier this year a leopard spotted near Kengeri was captured by the forest department. Two leopards were found prowling in the outskirts of the city last year too – one in the Turahalli state forest area and the other not far from the Kempegowda International Airport. In February 2016, a leopard entered the VIBGYOR school in Whitefield.

Leopards in and around Bengaluru seem to have been in the news a lot lately.  What has the wild cat got to do in the garden city?

Bengaluru is located in the Deccan Plateau which has some of the oldest rock formations of the earth. This landmass which was a result of continental drift and movement of the Indian plate features huge granite boulders.

The rocky outcrops and scrub forests which are one of the most striking features of the Deccan Plateau are ideal habitats for leopards.

Bengaluru has transformed into an urban expanse over the years, however, the rocky outcrops and dry deciduous forests continue to exist in some areas around the city. Similar landscapes can also be seen around Mysuru, Ramanagara and Channapatna making it all conducive environments for the solitary and nocturnal beasts.

“If you go towards Kanakpura Road in South Bengaluru, you see dry deciduous forest all the way from NICE Road up to Bannerghatta National Park. That area continues to have leopards because those are natural habitats of leopards,” says Sanjay Gubbi, conservationist and author of Leopard Diaries: The Rosette in India.