OT Staff & Waquar Habib
The Asiatic lion, confined to Gir National Park, is India’s most iconic predator after the tiger. Living in prides, they prey on deer, antelope, and livestock, maintaining ecosystem balance.
Leopards adapt to forests, hills, and even near cities. Ambush hunters, they prey on deer, monkeys, and smaller mammals, playing a crucial role in regulating prey populations nationwide.
Snow leopards roam Ladakh, Himachal, and Uttarakhand’s high altitudes. Solitary and elusive, they prey on bharal and ibex, representing one of India’s rarest apex predators in alpine ecosystems.
Dholes, or Indian wild dogs, hunt in packs across central and southern forests. They are cooperative hunters, capable of taking down large prey like sambar deer through strategic teamwork.
India’s mugger crocodile inhabits rivers, lakes, and marshes. As apex aquatic predators, they ambush fish, birds, and mammals, playing a vital ecological role in controlling wetland prey populations.
The saltwater crocodile, found in the Sundarbans and Odisha’s coasts, is the world’s largest reptilian predator. Opportunistic hunters, they take fish, crustaceans, and mammals, showcasing immense strength and dominance.
Though non-venomous, the Indian rock python is a formidable constrictor. Found in forests and grasslands, it preys on mammals and birds, immobilising them with immense muscular strength before swallowing whole.
The king cobra, the world’s longest venomous snake, inhabits the Western Ghats and Northeast. Known for feeding on other snakes, it commands respect as a top reptilian predator in India.
The Eurasian eagle-owl, with piercing vision and silent flight, dominates nocturnal skies in rocky landscapes of peninsular India. It preys on rodents, reptiles, and small mammals, keeping prey populations balanced.
The fishing cat thrives in mangroves and wetlands like the Sundarbans. An expert swimmer, it preys on fish, crustaceans, and water birds, serving as a vital wetland predator in India.