India, Nov. 17 -- Despite a sharp rise in the leopard population, reports of territorial fights in the Junnar landscape remain unusually low. The pattern has prompted forest officials and scientists to examine whether leopards in the region are displaying kinship-based tolerance and cohabitation - a behaviour that, if proven, would mark a significant shift from the species' well-known territorial instinct. Forest officials confirmed that they are now exploring this possibility through scientific assessment.

After a recent human death in Shirur tehsil, the Junnar forest division conducted a capture drive in Pimparkhed village. The team trapped three male leopards within a three-kilometre radius - all of the same age group. Officials said ...