Wild guests are here to stay
After dolphins, leopards have taken the state by surprise. Sighted in kandi belt, the wild cat, it was learnt, has made the area its new habitat. Sources say earlier, leopards used to come to Hoshiarpur, Garhshankar, Siswan and Pathankot in winter, from November to February, as the hilly regions became sparse in prey. But they had never made the region their habitat. Leopards have been here for about a year, says Satinder Singh, Siswan range officer, adding, "This is a recent phenomenon. We have seen pugmarks of leopards and a cub.'