There will be another immediate tell tale sign of a leopard frequenting the area . Anyone who has pet cats will know that cats love to scratch things and many owners of cats will often get them scratch posts and things of that sort . A leopard , being of the same family of mammals as a cat , will always scratch it's claws on the bark of a tree , before making it's move on it's intended quarry . Amongst us shikaris of West Bengal , we refer to any trees which have a leopard's claw marks on them as " Khamchir Gaach " ( Scratching Tree ) .
Not only did the area which Wani had found , have bushes which smelt strongly like a rodent's nest , but it also had plenty of trees around the bushes which had the unmistakable scratch marks of a leopard's claws on them .
My compatriot and chum , Major Khan of these forums has been so kind as to provide me with a photograph which he took of a scratching tree .
