Pune: 3 leopard cubs found in sugarcane field reunited with their mother

A reunion attempt was made on January 24, however, the mother did not show up. Followed by a health checkup, a second effort to reunite them with the mother was done on January 25 evening

In yet another successful reunion, three leopard cubs were reunited with their mother near Hinjewadi in Pune on Tuesday by Pune Forest Department and RESQ Charitable Trust (Wildlife) team. On January 24, three leopard cubs - two female and one male - between 15-20 days of age were discovered by a local farmer while he was harvesting sugarcane field in the morning. He informed the Pune Forest Department and NGO RESQ (Wildlife) team. A reunion attempt was made the same evening, however, the mother did not show up for her cubs, possibly due to the disturbance at the location during the day.

Pune Forest Department and RESQ Charitable Trust (Wildlife) team set up the reunion basket, cameras

The cubs were transferred temporarily to the RESQ Wildlife Treatment Transit Centre to ensure they remained hydrated and in good health. Followed by a health checkup, a second effort to reunite them with the mother was done on January 25 evening. The teams set up the reunion basket, cameras and just before leaving they carefully collected urine from all three cubs and left a scent trail for the mother to trace her cubs.

"The mother leopard arrived at 7:30 pm, and sensing their mother's presence, the cubs began calling out to her loudly. She systematically retrieved them one by one and shifted them to a safe location. Finally, they were successfully reunited," said Rahul Patil, deputy conservator of forests, Pune Forest Department.

"While the Forest Department and Wildlife RESQ teams put in their best efforts to reunite the cubs with the mother, this reunion would not have been possible without the cooperation and support of the Jadhavs, the farmer and his family, who owned the land. They stopped the harvesting immediately and expressed that they had no issues with the leopard living on their land. In their experience, these leopards have been living around for the past few years and have caused no problems to humans at all," said Neha Panchamia, Founder, RESQ CT, Pune.

Jan 25
The date three cubs were successfully reunited with their mother