Pune: When dogs put the cat among the thorns

The Palm Civet cat stuck in the tree

A Pune-based wildlife lover along with forest department officials and members of an NGO helped a Palm Civet cat to get off a thorny tree on the Mumbai-Pune Highway near Talegaon, where it had got stuck after being chased by dogs in the wee hours of Sunday.

Rescue team ready
Soon after the local spotted the cat around 7 am, he informed the Friends of Nature Association team about it. They immediately informed the forest department, and three members of the team - Mahesh Mahajan, Sanjay Nikalje and Kiran Mokashi - rushed to the spot. On reaching, they noticed that the cat was extremely scared as the dogs were continuously barking at it.

Forest escape
Recalling the incident, Mahajan said, "The cat, a three to four-year-old female, belongs to the Civet species. They are nocturnal animals and usually prey on rats and roasting birds. They are mostly spotted in cool climates. There are chances that when the dogs started chasing her, she climbed up the tree to save herself.

Initially, we had planned to rescue her by preparing a bamboo shelter, but then, we did it the natural way. As these cats die due to extreme stress and heat, we asked all the people who had gathered at the spot to move away from the tree and maintain a certain distance. After almost an hour, she slowly went into the forest."

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