Chandigarh, May 23 -- Years after indirect signs hinted at their presence, camera traps have now confirmed leopards inside the Sukhna Wildlife Sanctuary, with a recent survey offering the first systematic, multi-detection evidence of the big cats in Chandigarh's forests.

The images, captured during a week-long biodiversity survey conducted from November 20 to 27, 2025, show two adult male leopards moving through dense forest patches, their identities established through distinct rosette patterns on their coats - leopard spots are not actually solid dots; they are complex clusters called rosettes.

The survey was carried out by the department of forest & wildlife in collaboration with the Wildlife Institute of India.

For years, forest st...