45-day-old leopard cub reunited with mother near Chas village in Pune district

Accustomed to catching occasional glimpses of leopards around the area, the villagers immediately informed the forest department, officials said. Smita Rajhans, Range Forest Officer, Manchar Forest Range, said, “We received a call from the villagers about the presence of a cub near an onion storage house. Seeing that the cub needed medical care, we took it to the Manikdoh Leopard Rescue Centre for treatment. Following all safety measures, our team then worked with Wildlife SOS to reunite the cub on the same night.”

The Manikdoh Leopard Rescue Centre in Junnar is operated by Wildlife SOS. After a thorough examination of the cub, it was discovered to be an extremely young male cub, approximately 1.5 months old, Dr Akhilesh Dhage, Veterinary Officer, Wildlife SOS said. “We observed that the cub was alert but a little dehydrated. This was possibly due to the weather conditions as it is monsoon and the rains brought the temperature down. We, therefore, provided the necessary hydration therapy to improve the cub’s health,” Dr Dhage said.

Once deemed fit, the team arranged for the cub to be returned on the same evening to the location where it was found. “Trap cameras were set up that captured the mother leopard slowly approaching the field in the dark hours. She gently picked up the cub by the scruff of its neck and retreated to a safer location,” said an official of Wildlife SOS.

Kartick Satyanarayan, co-founder and CEO, Wildlife SOS, said, “Since 2009, Wildlife SOS has partnered with the forest department in reuniting over 100 leopard cubs. This reunion is another example of that partnership and we were glad to assist the forest department in successfully completing this operation.”

Over 100 leopard cubs have been reunited due to joint efforts of the forest department and Wildlife SOS.