As part of a study to understand the life of leopards staying in the sugarcane fields of Maharashtra, which will also help the forest department and researchers plan better conservation strategies for the big cats, three leopards were recently radio-collared at Junnar.

The leopards, including one male, have been named Surya, Jija and Heerkani. Dr Bilal Habib, senior scientist from the Wildlife Institute of India said, “The aim is to understand the movement pattern and distribution of the leopards staying in sugarcane fields. The outcome of the project will help us in preparing better conservation strategies for the leopards and also in reducing the man-animal conflict.”