Search for leopard cub8217;s mother called off

PUNE, Feb 28: The search for the mother of the 11-day-old leopard cub that was found barely a kilometer from the city outer limit a few d...

PUNE, Feb 28: The search for the mother of the 11-day-old leopard cub that was found barely a kilometer from the city outer limit a few days back, has been called off.

The Forest Department had been in a tizzy out of fear that the adult female leopard might be lying hurt and hungry in the neighbourhood.

With nothing concrete coming out of the search operations in the past three days, the search taken on in association with the Katraj Snake Park, was today called off, on the assumption that the leopard must have moved back into the forests of Sinhagarh. Four days have passed since the 11-day-old leopard cub was discovered at the Katraj Ghats, barely a kilometer from the Snake Park. Pug marks of an adult female leopard and droppings were found near the spot. However, no more pug marks have come to light.

A 60-minute cassette was recorded with the calls of the cub yesterday and played between 2 a.m. and 4 a.m. in the ghats while officials watched from a 150 feet distance with night vision telescopes. There was, however, no response to this and the cub has now been dubbed deserted. Neelimkumar Khaire, director, Katraj Snake Park, who will be looking after the jungle cat, has made an appeal to animal lovers for funds to help him bring up the cub.

A leopard cub needs about Rs. 3,000 a month for maintenance and feeding, says Khaire. Feeding it on chicken and milk is expensive and the cash strapped Snake Park would find it an expensive proposition, he explains. Money would also be required for the construction of a spacious cage as the cub grows rapidly at the rate of putting on 40 grams of weight per day.

Those desirous of contributing for the cause have been asked to contact the Snake Park at 570747.