SUGARCANE FARMERS on Saturday night found a 45-day-old male leopard cub in Shiroli village under Junnar forest division in Pune district. Following this, Wildlife SOS and the forest department reunited the cub with its mother. Since 2009, Wildlife SOS has reunited 100 leopard cubs with their mothers.
On Saturday night, farmers harvesting sugarcane spotted the leopard cub in the dense stalks of sugarcane fields near Shiroli village and informed forest department officials, who rescued the cub and brought it to the Manikdoh Leopard Rescue Centre in Junnar, operated jointly by Wildlife SOS and the forest department.
Wildlife SOS’ veterinary team conducted a health examination of the cub, which was identified as a male and estimated to be 45 days old. Once declared fit, the cub was taken back to the location where it was found. The team placed the cub in a safe box and for the reunion to be a success, the box was lined with the cub’s urine drops. After a few hours, camera traps set up by the team captured the heartwarming moment of the leopard finding her cub and carrying him away.
Dr Chandan Sawane, veterinary officer, Wildlife SOS, said, “Lining the box with the cub’s urine acts as a scent marking to assist the mother leopard in locating him more easily. The leopard’s mother cautiously approached the safety box as seen in the camera trap footage. After scanning the area for any danger, she cleverly used her paw to tip the box over and safely carried away her cub to a safe location.”
Kartick Satyanarayan, co-founder and CEO, Wildlife SOS, said, “Since 2009, Wildlife SOS has been proactively involved in every harvesting season to protect and conserve the Indian leopard through reunion operations. Over a decade of rescue, awareness and sensitisation efforts have led to this milestone of 100 reunions.”
