Two leopard cubs were rescued and reunited with their mother at Somatwadi village near Pune, and the entire rescue operation had been filmed.
Farmers found the two cubs, barely three weeks old, while working in the sugarcane fields at Junnar. They contacted forest officials, who moved the leopard cubs away from the site to avoid any incident of the mother leopard running into people, in her search for the cubs.
“After conducting a meticulous veterinary examination for parasites and injuries, the cubs were found to be in good health and fit for release,” said Dr. Ajay Deshmukh, senior veterinarian at Manikdoh Leopard Rescue Centre.
In the meantime, there came reports that an adult female leopard had been spotted nearby, and could be searching for her missing cubs.
The rescue team comprising of forest officials and representatives of the Wildlife SOS, set to reunite the cubs with their mother.
They put the scared cubs in a box and placed them at the same spot where they had been found. They also positioned two remote controlled camera traps to monitor the cubs and document the reunion, on Wednesday night.
“After hours of waiting, the mother leopard came looking for them and took them away. The photos show how much she missed them,” said Deshmukh.
“We learn from this documentation that rescuers must not give up by relocating or shifting the cubs to a zoo. The primary aim should be to reunite,” Deshmukh said.
Wildlife SOS has released the film and photos of the reunion on Thursday.
Since 2009, the forest department has successfully reunited 60 leopard cubs with their mothers.
Forest officials said that female leopards find it convenient to give birth and raise their cubs in the sugarcane fields. However, the cubs are often separated when the mother leopard leaves them as she goes hunting.
“It is not uncommon to spot leopards in this area. But this also gives rise to conflict situations when farmers harvest sugarcane,” added Sanjay Gaikwad, a forest officer.
