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3 leopard cubs reunited with mother in Mysuru: Officials
Three leopard cubs rescued from a sugarcane field in Mysuru, India, have been successfully reunited with their mother after a nine-day operation.
Bengaluru: Three leopards cubs which were rescued from sugarcane field at Ayarahalli village in Mysuru district on December 6 have been reunited with their mother, forest department officials said.
The cubs were reunited with their mother after a nine-day operation in collaboration with the Mysuru Zoo and Mysore wildlife department staff, officials said.
“We have made an organised plan to reunite the cubs with the mother, and we succeeded in it,” Mysuru division deputy conservator of forests K N Basavaraju told HT. “Sometimes wild animals do not accept cubs if they were touched by humans; we had that fear, but through the operation by the department, we managed them to reunite,” he added
The leopard cubs were discovered during the harvesting of sugarcane in the field belonging to Dyavannanayaka at Ayarahalli village. Labourers, who heard the leopard cubs squeaking, rescued them and brought them to a safe place. The villagers immediately placed them in a box and handed them over to the forest department officials. It is said that the cubs were born a week ago. In an attempt to reunite them with their mother, the cubs were placed in a box at the same location, and efforts were made to attract the mother leopard. To monitor the situation, a camera was installed at the site.
However, as the mother leopard did not appear, a trap cage was set up at the location on the second day. The mother leopard was successfully trapped. Following the senior officers’ instructions, the mother and cubs were then taken to the Chamundi Rehabilitation Centre at Koorgalli.
At the rehabilitation centre, a team of skilled doctors separated the cubs from their mothers and closely monitored them through CCTV cameras. Over the next 48 hours, the mother and cubs were allowed to adapt to each other. On the fifth day, the trio was taken back to the forest, with a separate enclosure prepared to prevent the mother from leaving her cubs.
As the days progressed, the mother leopard exhibited natural behaviour, breaking out of the enclosure on the sixth day to search for a safe shelter. On the seventh day, she visited the cubs, inspecting them from outside before returning.
Despite the efforts, the mother leopard did not return on the eighth day. Forest department staff stepped in to bottle-feed and care for the cubs. On the ninth day, the mother finally came and took two of the cubs, including the unique black leopard cub, to a secure location. The successful culmination of the operation occurred on the tenth day when the mother leopard returned to take away the remaining cub.
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