Leopards on the Landour, Mussoorie

Normally Saturday brings happiness, since Saturday is outing Day for us as a Student at “New Theological College” Deheradun. I was thinking, I wish I could go home up to Mussoorie. I missed my friends, I missed those Oak trees, I missed the snow caps Mountain’s view, I missed all kinds of colorful people from all over the world, since it is a place where you will get an opportunity to smell all kinds of arm’s pits.  I picked up my mobile to update my friend’s life in Mussoorie since winter is coming and people will have whole different kinds of experience than in summer. In summer people want to escape the heat and come up to Mussoorie that they can enjoy the cold brazed and test the embraced the comfort of the “Queen Hill Mussoorie”. However, In winter is completely different, people put on  as much as cloths they can put on, they wear caps and gloves, sometimes you hardly could recognize your friends, since all you can see is their green, blue, brown or black twinkling eyes. Some people who are skinny also get an opportunity to become or act like a ‘FAT BIG’ person, since they are the one who feel much cold, but at the same time you see people sitting on a bike while snowing and enjoying ICE-Cream.

Landour is pretty much located in the woods.  People have houses in the woods, which makes Landour as a unique and peaceful place to live, learn, think and reflect on. There are international schools. Rokeby Minor(HOTEL), which is also on the top on the Landour. So people they walk into these woods all the time since they cannot drive their cars of bikes right into their houses or they can ride on the back of Nepali Coolies if they do not have enough strength to walk. Even in the mid night people walk with their tiny flash light, sometimes, they hardly, can even see anything rather than their own your footsteps.

As, winter approaches temperature goes down but these BAG CATS (Leopards), comes up with full assurance of getting prepared testy food(Dog). It is easy to get, because someone has kept these foods (Dogs) for them from last year. It has ripe/cooked well. These CATS are so much not scared with human beings sometimes they take guts to appear and give looks to humans. They are bold enough to get into people’s houses and take your pets (Dogs), from your very sight. But, I have not heard not heard that they have killed any human beings though they have just come across one or two feet away from human’s presence. I had one encounter; I thought that’s at but that “BIG CAT” was decent enough to get away from my road to disappear into woods. There are hundreds of stories, people encountering with these “BIG CATS” all the time especially in the winter times. Here are some stories written by various people about these beautiful “BIG CATS”

Andi Eicher, follow at (http://andi-sheba.blogspot.in/2007/12/monkeys-and-leopards-in-mussoorie.html)

Yesterday, Sunday, Vickey had gone for a walk into the woods in his chappals. He walked down the back path to Jabarkhet. He then cut down to Fairy Glen and then thot to keep going down into the woods. It was all so quiet and peaceful. When he was way down, near the stream, all of a sudden he noticed all the birds around were shouting and chirping.

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Then something moved in front of him off the path. He looked down and there, barely 15 feet way was A LEOPARD in a crouching position, it's long tail spread out behind it. They both looked into each others eyes. Vickey's heart froze, he was so scared. The next moment he just turned and raced STRAIGHT UP THE HILL, thru the bushes and all. He got his hands all scratched up, but he said he had INCREDIBLE ENERGY AND SPEED.

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Fortunately, the leopard must have been as surprised as Vickey and did not wish to follow him, PRAISE THE LORD! Finally when he reached Fairy Glen he just collapsed and realized what a miraculous escape he had had.

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Probably the leopard was coming along the same bath and when he (or she) heard Vickey, he/she jumped down OFF THE PATH, to about 10 feet below the path. Vickey really feels that is he/she had BEEN ABOVE HIM, he/she would have jumped on him.This was about the 4th time Vickey has had an encounter with this species in the near past.

Another story from (http://lindia60.com/tag/leopards-in-mussoorie/)

One night we heard it just below our balcony at the back of the house.  We knew it was there because it had a big clanging bell around it’s neck.  Tony dropped all kinds of things on it to chase it away but it didn’t budge.  Tiffany went out just after dark to see it and came back to tell us to bring a torch.  Tony shone it into a nearby bush, right into the eyes of a huge cat.  Its eyes were really far apart which told us how big its head was.  It stayed there for ages, looking into the torchlight.  We knew it could only have been a leopard.  Someone suggested it might have been a black one.

Aunty and Uncle, who lived in the small farmhouse next to us, had a big dog called “Johnny”   He reminded us of the dog in “The Perisher’s” cartoon, except he wasn’t nice.  They tied him up all day; which was probably the cause of his aggression.  Whatever it was, we were glad he wasn’t off his chain during the day. We woke up one morning to find he wasn’t there.  Uncle told us a leopard had taken him.  There were signs of a struggle but no one had heard anything.   

Sasha had a few more litters and a couple of her babies were taken.  She loved wandering off into the bush but always came back late in the afternoon.  There were times we were called to Woodstock School to pick her up; quite a few times actually.  She would wander onto the grounds to play with the kids, hoping they would share their lunch with her.

One day we realised she hadn’t been home for while.  She just disappeared.  We looked everywhere.   After a few days we had to tell the kids.  “Sasha has been taken by a leopard.”

Incident Written by Christian Rose

Ooooooohhhhh myyyyyyyyyy goooooddddddnesssssssss!!!!!!!! I was just walking on my normal path I take every week near my house (11:00 in the morning!!!) and saw a leopard sitting just above the road where I was. He was hissing and growling and had a moaning, half dying dog in his mouth! Ahhhhhhhhh!!!!!!! I was so scared I was shaking. I started walking backwards as fast as I could so I could still keep facing it. He was hissing louder and I wasn't sure if it was because he saw me or the dog was fighting to get away. When I got a good enough distance away, I started to run as fast as I could. I ran into a man and was trying to tell him in Hindi what was ahead. I was breathless and shaking. He kept saying, "ma'am you can speak English to me!" But I think I was so scared I could barely even think of English words. Ahhhhh! 

HOT DOG PLEASE  (http://www.outlookindia.com/article/mussoorie-diary/262315)

Tigers may be on the way out, but leopards are still very much with us, as I know from my own sightings and the experiences of others. Last summer, driving up from Dehradun around midnight, I saw a mother and her three cubs reclining on the parapet of the Mussoorie road, enjoying a cool breeze like any other visitor to the hill station. Normally, leopards won’t bother humans, but they are fond of dogs—not in the way we are fond of dogs, but as the main course for breakfast or dinner. Mr Solomon was walking his pet retriever outside his Landour villa when a leopard sprang out from the bushes, seized the dog (along with its lead), and vanished down the hillside before the astonished owner could react.

Rajiv Handa had a similar experience, but was able to save his dog. Late evening, Rajiv was in his living room, enjoying a book, when he heard a scuffle outside his front door. On opening the door, he found his mastiff struggling with a huge leopard. Rajiv is a keen golfer. He didn’t have a gold club with him, but he picked up a heavy walking stick and, flourishing it with a golfer’s swing, struck the leopard a telling blow. The leopard dropped the dog and made off.

Rajiv brought the dog inside (its injuries weren’t too bad), locked up, and returned to his book. There is nothing like a good book to calm the nerves. An hour later it was time for bed, so he put the lights out and went to the window to make sure it was shut. He looked through the glass, and there was the leopard, sitting on a flower-bed and waiting patiently for the dog to be let out again!

These beautiful CATS, are often in Landour not to threaten human lives but to Beg “HOT DOGS”.

But, sometimes we are so bold enough even to snatch our “HOT DOG” from the mouth of these BIG CAT’S and bring them back into our homes. Actually, one of my friends Ashu, who lives next to Callog Church, snatched his dog (BITSEE) and brought back into to home. This definitely shows that they are not very dangerous to human beings.  It is indeed a blessing to have a glimpse of these beautiful CATS.

Winter not only brings cold in Landour but “BIG CAT”, SNOW and many other things. It brings  special time for some people to wonder to Hunt these “BIG CATS” with camera and for some to just turn on BHUKARI, drink soup, read books and enjoy life with new glorious views (Green hills turning in to white), wild Lives, and new wives/Husbands.

As, I will be walking on to these hills, Join me, through following this BLOG.

Green Mussoorie, Clean Mussoorie,

Yehi hamari, Sab Se Jaruari.

“Let’s keep Landour clean, this is our home”