Dusk settles in as a leopard walks around the Yeoor Hills that lie at the eastern edge of SGNP near Thane.
" Part of my research included wanting to understand human-animal interaction. I learnt that the leopard is very shy, smaller than we imagine, secretive, and the most adaptable cat."—Nikit Surve
A female leopard slyly entering her den.
"Leopards don't follow political boundaries like we do."—Nikit Surve
"I simply want to let people know coexistence can exist. Simple things like torches keep them away. They are far more scared of people than we are of them, and we are understanding and conveying this to people."—Nikit Surve
Pani, whose official name was L28 used to frequent areas of SGNP as well as Aarey and was regularly captured in camera trap set up. However, on January 1, she was found killed after getting trapped in an illegal snare. This image was the first one that documented how leopards ventured out of the forest to hunt dogs who were easy prey.
"We clicked this female leopard in 2017. She had two cubs with her. She might've killed this domestic fowl outside the forest boundary, probably from an Adivasi hamlet. But they don't report it or treat this as conflict. They look at it as part of life."—Nikit Surve
