Although our work is never-ending, now is the time that when we can slow down just a tiny bit. Briefly. As the “tourist season” draws to a close, we've got a whole host of things lined up for the summer (including more tours!) but, essentially we'll also have a little bit of time to take stock and reflect on what has been a fantastic first season for Wire.

It's official - I've added leopard spotting to my rather odd list of talents. Not so strange you might think - given that we're living in Rajasthan, the land where big cats surely just roam the streets. We all know that tiger numbers are alarmingly low in India - somewhere around the 1400 mark, which may sound a lot - but it isn't. We've heard stories of Sariska with its failing breeding programme, tourists disappointed with a lack of tiger on their tiger safari and perhaps most bizarrely, importing cheetahs from Syria to live in Jaisalmer. Of all places. But the humble leopard seems to have slipped off the radar, perhaps because it's so shy and retiring - or simply that their PR company isn't up to the job. Well, at Wire we've completely fallen in love with this underrated and under-represented species and have decided to do something about it. With a little help our course.

On the way back to Bijaipur, we drove past Bassi, denoted by the signs depicting a leopard. It's not the first time we have seen such signs, but that is not to say that we've actually seen any leopard in our time in Rajasthan. Perhaps, we thought, that might change...