8-Year-old Raja, one of the two leopards at Gulab Bagh Zoo feels much relaxed and happy when he is visited by his best friend, Ramsingh, who is the official caretaker of animals in the zoo and friends of many other wild animals at Gulab Bagh.

In fact, Ramsingh is the only person who is allowed to enter the animal’s cages and play with them, feed them and clean their cages.

Ramsingh, a 48-year-old employee of Gulab Bagh and father of two daughters is blessed with a unique instinct of being gracious with the wild beasts of the zoo.

He works as a care taker of the animals which includes serving food to them, cleaning their cages, etc. Being the son of ex-care taker Sohan Singh, Ramsingh had spent much of his childhood between these animals. “I was born and brought up between these animals; as my father was the employee of the zoo, we were provided residence in the same premises.”

When asked how he becomes so cozy with these animals, especially with the leopard, Ramsingh said with a jovial expression, “He is like my kid; Raja knows me since he came here as a cub. I used to feed him every day and that’s how he became so close to me.”

Like Raja the leopard, many other animals of the zoo wait for Ramsingh to come and feed them every day. As soon as he goes inside the cage, he is greeted by the animals in the same manner as a domestic pet reacts on seeing the master.

photo by Sohail Khan

Raja was brought to the zoo as an infant in 2004 with two more cubs, out of which one died due to a snake bite and another, which was sent to Jaipur zoo was also looked after by Ramsingh.

Badal, a 5-year-old leopard transferred from the forest of Prasad in 2006 along with 1 more cub that died of illness was also taken care of by Singh.

Not only these two big cats but also various other wild animals of the zoo were included in the friend list of Ramsingh including alligators, bears, monkeys, hyenas, fox and tigers.

Ram also joined various rescue operations of wild animals. In 1997 he was honored with a bravery award and in 1999 with the best caretaker award, in Jaipur.

Besides all the good moments he shares with his special friends, he was also attacked by them dozens of times. “I was once attacked by a Russel wiper and lost my index finger of the left hand.” In another incident narrated by Ramsingh, in 1997, a lion accidentally came out of the cage. He, with the help of a wooden stick forced the lion back to the cage.

No doubt Ramsingh is brave, but more than this he has immense affection for the animals of the zoo, which has made him their best friend.

All photos of Ramsingh in the cage, cuddling the leopards is of few years back, which are minutely edited for clarity. Photo of Ramsingh outside the cage is taken by Sohail Khan (UT)