3 leopard cubs reunite with their mother

It was a team effort of MLRC and Wildlife SOS

Ashish Phadnis

Manikdoh Leopard Rescue Centre (MLRC), which is known for its conservation efforts, carried out yet another successful attempt to reunite three one-month-old leopard cubs with their mother near Ale Phata,
Junnar on Saturday.
The cubs were found in a sugarcane field at Pingle Mala near Ale Phata (45 km from MLRC). After the MLRC and Wildlife SOS team received a call from the forest department at Ale Phata, the team members along with wildlife veterinary officer Dr Ajay Deshmukh reached the spot with the necessary equipment.
“We found three cubs hiding in a sugarcane field. We first ensured that their mother is not around and then picked them up for clinical observation. We found no injuries, insects on their bodies and even their heartbeats and temperature was normal,” said Deshmukh.
“Later, we took the cubs to the nearby forest office (Ale Phata) for vaccination. We also fed them some milk diluted with water. Two cubs were hungry and were fed without any problem, but the female cub didn’t accept the milk. The cubs were fit to be released in the wild,” he added. The MLRC team discussed the issue with Wildlife SOS (an NGO) co-founder Kartick Satyanarayanan and deputy conservator of forests AD Bhosale and decided to reunite the cubs with their mother.
“We arranged a crate for the cubs and put it at the place where we had found them in the evening. The mother would be more comfortable with the cover of darkness and was sure to show up looking for the cubs,” said Deshmukh.
The team waited in the darkness for more than three hours. At midnight, they heard a soft rustling and dragging sound.
“We waited for some more time and later, inspected the place. We found the crate empty and pug marks of a female leopard. We were happy that we managed to reunite the cubs with their mother. The whole exercise was well planned and executed and the forest department and MLRC wildlife SOS team have done a good job,” said Deshmukh.
The MLRC is run by collaboration between Wildlife SOS and Junnar forest division.
p_ashish@dnaindia.net