Vigilant farmers stop harvesting to rescue 20-day-old jungle cats found in Pune sugarcane field
The Maharashtra forest department and the NGO Wildlife SOS, in a joint operation, rescued two 20-day-old jungle cats that were found in a sugarcane field in the Hivre village in the Pune district. They reunited the kittens, whose eyes were barely open, safely with their mother.
Sugarcanefarmers in the village, which falls in the Junnar division, found the jungle cats Friday. Concerned for the kittens’ safety, the vigilant farmers took swift action and stopped harvesting the field before shifting them to a sheltered area. On being alerted, teams from the forest department and Wildlife SOS reached the location and conducted an examination.
A statement issued by the Wildlife SOS said that the cubs were placed in a safe box and taken back to the field where the farmers found them. Camera traps installed to monitor the kittens captured the mother cat slowly approaching her missing kittens. She picked them up one after the other and disappeared into the forest, it said.
Dr Chandan Sawne, veterinary officer, Wildlife SOS, said, “Reunion operations are extremely sensitive. So measures have to be taken to ensure that they are successful. The cubs are held gently with gloved hands during examinations. Handling them is kept to a minimum so that this does not make them more anxious. The safe boxes are well-ventilated and usually placed in the spot where the cub was initially found to make the search easier for the mother.”
With the advent of the sugarcane harvest season in Maharashtra, farmers have to tread cautiously as several wild cats such as leopards, jungle cats and rusty-spotted cats seek shelter amidst the tall and dense crops. This often leaves their cubs at risk of being found by humans working in the fields, forest officials said.
