© IE Online Media Services Pvt Ltd
Tags:
Journalism of Courage
A video of a man driving a leopard cub around in his car has caught the internet’s attention, winning plaudits for him. According to an X post, Ankush Chauhan, a resident of Kotkhai Tharola in Himachal Pradesh, rescued the cub and took it to the divisional forest officer (DFO) in Theog. The viral video shows the leopard cub playing in the car and looking outside its window.
“Kotkhai Tharola resident Ankush Chauhan, on finding a leopard cub, personally took it to Theog DFO. Good to see humanity still alive, as such rare animals are often killed for their teeth and skin,” Nikhil Saini wrote on X.
However, Parveen Kaswan, an Indian Forest Service officer, criticised Chauhan for his “wrong decision”.
“It may look cute and well intentioned. But not a good decision. Rescues should be last resort. First such cat species cubs should be secured wherever they are found. Secure and let mother come and take them. If multiple failures then rescue as a last resort. This is what we do,” Kaswan wrote.
“Call forest dept people. We have many such cases documented in last few years. Never we pick animal from the location. Mother may have kept them there and will return back in night. First priority should be reuniting. A rescued small cub is very difficult to be raised without a mother,” he added.
See the post here:
The video quickly drew attention, with numerous social media users sharing their reactions. “I was exactly thinking about how this potentially has resulted in cub being taken away from mother. And my fear is that for social media, many will attempt to do this intentionally,” a user wrote. “Couldn’t agree more. Nature should be allowed to take its own course. Intervention should be the lender of last resort,” another user commented.
