15-Day-Old Leopard Cub Found In Pune Sugarcane Field Reunited With Mother

The 15-day-old leopard cub was discovered by farmers while harvesting their sugarcane fields. It was reunited with its mother in a joint operation by NGO Wildlife SOS and the Maharashtra Forest Department.

Bobins AbrahamUpdated: Mar 31, 2023, 14:20 IST

3 min read

Indiatimes

In the second such incident this month, a newborn leopard cub that was found lost in a sugarcane field in Maharashtra's Pune has been reunited with its mother.

The 15-day-old leopard cub was discovered by farmers while harvesting their sugarcane fields near Kailash Nagar village, located in the Junnar division of Pune district.

15-Day-Old Leopard Cub Found In Pune Sugarcane Field Reunited With Mother WILDLIFE SOS

Reunited with mother on same evening

It was reunited with its mother in a joint operation by NGO Wildlife SOS and the Maharashtra Forest Department.

According to the Forest Department, they were alerted by the owner of the sugarcane field about the cub's presence there.

15-Day-Old Leopard Cub Found In Pune Sugarcane Field Reunited With Mother WILDLIFE SOS

Following this, Forest Department and Wildlife SOS rushed to the location, and the NGO's veterinary doctor performed an on-site health examination and assessed that the cub was a male, aged approximately 15 days old.

After the cub was found to be healthy, the team arranged for it to be returned to the field where it was found.

15-Day-Old Leopard Cub Found In Pune Sugarcane Field Reunited With Mother WILDLIFE SOS

How the cub was reunited

Cameras set-up captured the mother leopard slowly approaching the field at midnight. The video showed the mother gently picking him up by the scruff of his neck and retreating to a safer location.

"After examining the cub and ensuring that it was in good health, we returned to the field to initiate the reunion process. Time is of essence in these situations as the longer the separation between cubs and mother, the harder it is to reunite them," Dr Chandan Sawane, Veterinary Officer, Wildlife SOS, said.

15-Day-Old Leopard Cub Found In Pune Sugarcane Field Reunited With Mother WILDLIFE SOS

Leopard cubs not uncommon in sugarcane fields

During the sugarcane harvest season in Maharashtra, it is not uncommon for farmers to come across newly born leopard cubs in their fields.

This is also the time when leopards give birth and with forest cover dwindling and being replaced by sugarcane fields, the big cats often seek shelter there.

The mother leopard leaves her cubs behind during the day when she searches for food.

15-Day-Old Leopard Cub Found In Pune Sugarcane Field Reunited With Mother WILDLIFE SOS

More than 100 reunions so far

In a similar situation this week, farmers of Kailash Nagar village in Junnar stumbled upon a leopard cub while harvesting sugarcane crops.

"This marks the second leopard cub reunion of the season, with the first one happening last week in Tejewadi village. Counting this operation, Wildlife SOS and the Maharashtra Forest Department have reunited 102 leopard cubs with their mothers to date. This is a significant figure from a conservation point of view, because it translates to the fact that these cubs eventually grow up to keep the leopard population intact in the wild and thus, the ecological balance is maintained," Kartick Satyanarayan, Co-founder and CEO, Wildlife SOS said.

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Bobins Abraham is the Assistant News Editor at Indiatimes. He has more than twelve years of experience in TV and digital journalism. An avid student of history and geopolitics, he is a conservationist and environmentalist at heart. He writes on environment, sustainability, human-animal conflict and more.