Leopard Diaries: The Rosette in India

by Sanjay Gubbi

'Evolution is an exquisite artist, even if an unconscious one.'- Eric Dinerstein

The leopard is perhaps one of the world's most beautiful creatures. The spots on its body are even romantically called 'rosettes'. It is social but solitary, inconspicuous but significant in numbers, large but elusive, and does not fit any of the pigeonholes of large-cat conservation. In India, the leopard is a poster boy of the fight to preserve wildlife, but in many countries, it faces either ecological or local extinction. A worrying phenomenon, given that these cats carry out important ecosystem services that have not been fully understood yet.

In Leopard The Rosette in India , Sanjay Gubbi, who has studied and documented the leopard for nearly a decade, gives us a close look at this fascinating creature. From detailing its food habits to throwing new light on how the young are reared, from offering suggestions on tackling leopard-human conflict to imagining the future of this arresting animal, this book is a 360-degree view of the leopard, its ecological context, its fraught relationship with the human world, and how wildlife and human beings can find a way to co-exist.

Genres: Nature

272 pages, Paperback

Published October 10, 2023

Reviews

[Adarsh ಆದರ್ಶ · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Present is Tense and Future is bleak"
This phrase suits leopards more as their fight for survival has been intense in past few decades..
Leopards are 21st century cats most
adaptive and elusive of big cats.. Right from Sub- zero degree temperature of the Russian far east to (-30) degree to the arid, mountainous areas of Central Asia (50 deg C),the humid, triple- Canopied rainforests of SE Asia and Central Africa.. they can survive in any place because of their adapdabality. Leopards are champion's of Extreme.. Even though no match for a big tiger pound for pound the most powerful of the cats . Can carry a prey on to a tree 10 times bigger their size.
Often seen in Human Habitats living silently right beside without getting noticed these attributes make them diet genaralists they can live right from insects to stray dogs to big size chital and sambar deers in the wild.
Even though population is increasing the decline in their natural prey and habitats are making their survival difficult and conflict with humans are becoming more of a major threat which eventually ends with human hand upper with leopard either getting poisoned or killed in retaliation for loss of livestock or killing a human.
Their survival depends on human understanding of the most resilient member of cat family to survive for future generations to come..

Author gives enhanced information of Leopards which is his first hand experience as a conservationist and and wildlife scientist. This book is well researched and wittily written on the life and struggles my personal favourite of all the big cats..
Apart from few Christian and European city comparison anecdotes maybe author wanted to please international readers. Anyway this is most authentic book about leopards.

Wildlife enthusiast readers can easily go for it..

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A highly anticipated book for me, so expectations were high. I've heard of the author for years now, and his research on leopards in southern India, and of course most famously his harrowing encounter with one that got the attention of world media, but I am getting ahead of myself. This book was indeed like a diary, documenting Gubbi's experience as a field researcher and conservationist over the last decade or so. The basics of leopard ecology are covered, albeit not as satisfactorily as I would have liked. What was more valuable were the insights into the realities of trying to protect natural areas and wild species in the local context in India. Here, his patience with politicians and bureaucrats was key, waiting for years if necessary for an opportune time to push his proposals through. The author also spent time writing about the politics of conservation and how fellow scientists working on big cats contrived to sabotage and bad mouth his work frequently. Being involved in the field, I could empathize with his frustration with how territorial people can be and unfortunately how counter productive this can be to advancing the cause of conservation.

The hard work of Gubbi and his small team in combing over huge areas in Karnataka state for occupancy surveys, countless camera trapping that covered 20% of the total area over the years is truly admirable. In his tracking of translocated leopards their data showed that this policy was not always detrimental as some prominent biologists claim in other studies. And while leopards can and do live among humans in heavily populated areas, his research also suggested natural areas adjacent were required for their survival as refuge areas and corridors to core protected areas. The dedication of the author was put to the ultimate test when he was badly mauled by a leopard that had wandered into a school compound, which he was attempting to rescue. Gubbi came close to death and suffered debilitating injuries that took him months to recover from and left permanent scars. I did not realize when I saw the news how serious the attack was, and it is a testament to his tenacity that he continues his work even after such a tragedy. For this alone the man deserves the utmost respect.

[Santhosh · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic book to get yourself introduced to this wonderful species living amongst us. The author starts of with describing the species and goes about discussing the various issues related to leopard conservation in India. The book uses simple language and doesn't complicate things. It will be pleasurable reading experience and can be completed in one sitting.

Finally, on a personal note, look out for the riveting 'Benki' chapter in the book.