FIGHTING LEOPARDS IN RANTHAMBHORE N.P.

Four jeeps stationed head-to-toe on a narrow, rocky track is a sure sign that an event of major significance is underway. At Ranthambhore N.P. this would usually mean a tiger, but not this time.

Earlier in the day our hawk-eyed guide and driver had spotted a pair of Indian Leopard ascending a red-granite rock face. We had watched these astonishing animals until they were less than dappled specks against the rocks. Some time afterwards we passed the same spot and found that there were actually three leopards! Another female had been hidden from our line of sight, higher up. As they were all sleeping under the shade of paper-birch trees, we decided to move on.

Later in the afternoon, the leopards had moved their resting place lower down the cliff face. In full sunlight they were now easily viewable through binoculars. The extraordinarily broad and muscular male was at rest in the mouth of a dark, slender cave with his mate beside him. In an adjacent cave, a lone female (Loner) paced tirelessly. According to our guide, Raj, this female looked as though she was in heat and wanted to mate with the male next door. The fact that her neighbour already had a partner was seemingly insignificant.

A tension began to grow all around us. Between the leopards and us, the attentive audience, was a tree-filled gorge 150ft deep and 200ft across. Restless and agitated in the canopy of this dense forest was the local troop of Langur monkeys. They were not at all pleased that these predators now overlooked their every movement. Branches cracked and smashed as the monkeys expressed their anger and fear. Deep warning barks echoed up and down the gorge. Every now and then, peacock and chital joined the growing disharmony with their alarm calls.

Loner continued to grow irritable under the heat of the sun - she wanted to mate. She edged closer to the neighbouring cave. A low rumble issued from its dark depths. The acoustics of the cave had magnified a slight growl to resemble the rumble of a bull elephant. Loner's adversary was warning her off. Loner did not heed this however. Instead she strolled along the sliver of rock that adjoined the caves and gently laid down, staring directly at the male. A deadly silence brewed. As onlookers we glanced at each other, a single thought uniting us, "How could this female tolerate Loner's presence?"

The answer came quickly and with such power that all onlookers jumped in surprise. The female bolted, from deep within the cave, to a full frontal assault. Loner had anticipated her move and amazingly dodged each savage swipe. She trotted gleefully passed the male, to the far side of their cave and stunned all by scent marking the cave wall - almost in the eyes of the male. He immediately grimaced and twitched. His testosterone levels would have soared the moment this pungent cocktail reached his senses. Wound like a coil spring, his hackles were raised and he began to growl and spit. Rising from the cave floor, he now paced the length of the cave, from one female to the other. Witnessing the effect that she'd had on the male, Loner stood up, emboldened. She tentatively approached the male but was greeted by another deep growl.

Loner ignored the warning and brought herself face-to-face with the male and nuzzled him. Like an explosion the female launched herself at Loner. Clawing, swiping and biting, she beat Loner away from her mate. But Loner would not give up and repelled the attack, rearing up on her hind legs and boxing the female away, lashing at her face and ears. A billowing, swirling cloud of dust engulfed the entire scene. At the edge of the cave, overlooking a 200ft ft drop, these two hormonally charged combatants came to an uneasy halt. As the dust settled we could see the defending female was standing rigid and upright, one layer of rock above Loner. For the time being, the battle was over.

Dominance asserted Loner's adversary stared down at her who in turn lowered herself in submission. However, she did not lower her head. Face-to-face, almost eyeball-to-eyeball, they stared unblinking at each other. Hackles raised and lowered. After a few breathless minutes and with their aggressions temporarily extinguished, the two females parted. Loner made her way back to her cave alone, watched always by her opponent. From this unique insight we'd already concluded that Loner was a cat that wouldn't stay down for long…

Even before this epic had started, this had already been an extraordinary day. We had seen six different leopards in a single morning, a new park record. I was beside myself when I had spotted the sixth. A huge male, that from a distance, I had mistaken for a tiger. It was indeed especially rare to see a lone male walking through the bush in the lowlands of the park. A tiger will not tolerate any other predator in their territory. They will kill on sight and even eat any leopard that they come across. It stirred us into asking, "Where are the tigers?"