Hyderabad, May 7 -- In the shadows of skyscrapers and the tantrums of traffic, a supple spotted ghost moves with silent purpose. This is no myth - it's the Indian Leopard, one of the most adaptable and misunderstood big cats on earth. And nowhere is its paradox more vivid than in Mumbai's Sanjay Gandhi National Park. Hemmed in by high-rises, slums, highways, and film studios, this 100-square-kilometre jungle hosts nearly three dozen leopards that live undetected in the very heart of the mega-metropolis.

These cats are not intruders. They are survivors - stealthy, intelligent, and essential. Navigating narrow lanes, railway tracks, and open drains under cover of darkness, they hunt feral dogs, wild pigs, and rodents. In doing so, they per...