This Hilarious but Thoughtful Comic Strip Tells the Story of the Leopard Who Became a Movie Star

You may have heard of Ajoba, the big cat that made its way across the Sahyadris to Mumbai in 2009. This true story was made into a Marathi film and Ajoba even has a Wikipedia page of his own. But you have never heard Ajoba's adventure retold the way it is here, in the unique artwork of scientist Arjun Srivathsa. This is the second in his cartoon series (see the first one about elephants here). Arjun Srivathsa is a 26-year-old alumnus of the graduate program in Wildlife Biology and Conservation at the National Centre for Biological Sciences, Bengaluru. Art has always been an integral part of Arjun's life. "I have been drawing and painting ever since I was a child. And now, studying wildlife and making wildlife-themed artwork are two things I enjoy the most. Following my training as a scientist, one reality that struck me was that Indian wildlife biologists have been doing exceptionally high-quality scientific studies, but a major part of what they find or discover is never communicated to people," he says.

Arjun has studied dholes, leopards, tigers and other mammals in Western Ghats; he also published a paper on leopard cats recently.

"About the leopard cat, having recognised that there is very little knowledge on small felids of Asia,​ my colleagues and I ​​estimated populations of the leopard cat in the Western Ghats. ​With poaching, habitat loss, and illegal pet trade threatening their survival, there was crucial necessity for such a study. There is need for similar assessments of leopard cat populations across their distribution range. Our study, which involved camera trap surveys across about 2000 sq. km area, identified Bhadra and Biligiri Rangaswamy Temple Tiger Reserves as potential population strongholds for the species. Within areas where they occurred, higher leopard cat densities were clustered around secondary or disturbed forests and forest coffee plantation ​​habitats. ​We also observed that their densities were high around human settlements, likely driven by presence of rodents. ​These kinds of annual surveys need to be combined with continuous population monitoring to understand leopard cats better, and ensure their long-term conservation," says Arjun.

One of the most interesting scientific projects in the field of wildlife in India involved a leopard that was named Ajoba. Arjun Srivathsa's cartoon series on the story of Ajoba is no less than inspired and it is our pleasure that he allowed us to share it here:

[caption id="attachment_32620" align="aligncenter" width="960"]Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view. One of the most amazing things about wild animals is that they never fail to surprise us. Just when we thing we know everything about them, they manage to play a card that trumps our knowledge. The journey of Ajoba the leopard is one among many such stories.[/caption]   [caption id="attachment_32622" align="aligncenter" width="960"]Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view. Back in the summer of 2009, a leopard was chasing a village dog and both of them fell into a well. There was only one ledge in the well where people found the leopard and the dog sitting. One can only imagine the poor dog’s condition! The next day, the dog was rescued first and then began the story of ‘Ajoba’ the leopard.[/caption]   [caption id="attachment_32624" align="aligncenter" width="960"]Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view. Leopard biologist Dr. Vidya Athreya put a radio-collar on the big cat. She named him ‘Ajoba’ meaning ‘grandfather’. Thus, Ajoba became the subject of one of the most interesting scientific projects in the field of wildlife in India.[/caption]   [caption id="attachment_32625" align="aligncenter" width="960"]Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view. The radio-collar on Ajoba’s neck helped the scientists track his movements. The bag of surprises started when everyone thought he would hang around in the forested areas but Ajoba went climbing up and down the mountains of Malshej Ghats.[/caption]   [caption id="attachment_32626" align="aligncenter" width="960"]Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view. As if the crazy trekking wasn’t enough, he swam across a 70 meter wide creek, something that nobody expected a leopard to do![/caption]   [caption id="attachment_32627" align="aligncenter" width="960"]Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view. The most curious thing about Ajoba was that he permanently lived among humans. He walked around in agricultural fields, village outskirts and highways. The interesting part is that no one knew there was a full-sized male leopard living in their vicinity.[/caption]   [caption id="attachment_32631" align="aligncenter" width="960"]Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view. Ajoba eventually walked all the way to ‘Bollywood Backyard’, the city of Mumbai. He was heading towards Sanjay Gandhi National Park in the heart of the city. Again, no one knew that this leopard was walking through industrial areas, housing societies and city streets.[/caption]   [caption id="attachment_32632" align="aligncenter" width="960"]Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view. After he settled down in the national park, the researchers tracking his movements realized that he had walked a total of 125 kilometers in 25 days. This kind of long distance movement was never recorded before![/caption]   [caption id="attachment_32633" align="aligncenter" width="960"]Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view. In 2011, Ajoba met his end when a speeding vehicle ran over him on a highway.[/caption]   [caption id="attachment_32634" align="aligncenter" width="960"]Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view. So inspiring was Ajoba’s story, that he also became the theme of India’s very first feature Marathi film based on a scientific wildlife study. The movie titled ‘Ajoba’ portrays the journey of the leopard – the leopard who redefined our knowledge of large carnivores like himself.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_32635" align="aligncenter" width="960"]Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view. The story of Ajoba was carried far and wide in newspapers, television news and the internet. The journey of the old leopard became an inspiring story for many. Ajoba, who lived among people, moved among people, also moved people.
There will be other leopards and other journeys. There will be only one Ajoba.[/caption] Pocket Science India is a venture to combine wildlife science with art, to promote conservation awareness in India. The cartoons or cartoon-series are mostly information from scientific journal articles, translated into art panels. Interview by Parikshit Suryavanshi

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