On Friday, villagers from Shirala in Maharashtra’s Sangli District alerted animal organisation Sahyadri Rescue Warriors after two leopard cubs were spotted during sugarcane harvesting. The Sahyadri Rescue Warriors team, along with Maharashtra Forest Department officials, immediately reached the site and placed the cubs in a crate to facilitate their reunion with the mother leopard.

Despite the efforts, however, the mother did not return on the first night. The following morning, the cubs were shifted to the forest department for hand-feeding, veterinary examination, and observation. Later that evening, they were again positioned inside the sugarcane field for another reunion attempt. However, the female leopard did not show up on the second day either.