4 months ago
58
In what is said to be a “unique operation” carried out by the Forest Department, three leopard cubs that were rescued from a sugarcane field at Ayarahalli village on the outskirts of Mysuru a few days ago, were successfully reunited with their mother.
It took ten days for the forest authorities to ensure the coming together of the cubs and their mother, and the whole process was closely monitored, placing cameras, considering the cubs’ safety.
The cubs, including a black cub, were rescued on December 6 after villagers alerted the Forest Department after finding them in a private field. All three cubs were reunited with their mother on December 15. The Mysore zoo authorities extended support to the operation, which was closely monitored and coordinated.
Hoping that the mother leopard would return and take back its cubs, the forest authorities kept the cubs in a box at the same spot where they had been rescued. A camera trap was installed to monitor the reunion. However, the mother leopard did not return to take back its cubs.
On the second day of the rescue, a trap cage was put up at the field where the cubs were rescued. In a span of one hour, the mother leopard was trapped. On the directions of the senior forest officials, the cubs and the mother leopard were shifted to the Chamundi Rescue and Rehabilitation Center at Koorgalli near here.
The mother and cubs were kept in two separate rehabilitation rooms and a team of veterinarians monitored them, installing CCTVs.
An effort was made for the cubs and the mother to adapt to each other at the rescue center. On the fifth day, the mother and the cubs were taken to the forest in a separate enclosure and released in an enclosure to prevent the mother from leaving the cubs.
As expected, the leopard strayed out of the enclosure to perhaps find a secure place for its cubs. On the seventh day, the mother leopard visits the enclosure and inspects the cubs from outside before leaving the place. When the leopard did not return to the enclosure on the eighth day to check its cubs, the forest staff had to take care of the cubs’ bottle feeding them.
However, on the ninth day, the mother returned and took two cubs, including the black cub, to a secure location inside the forest. On the concluding day of the operation, that is on the 10th day, the mother took away the third cub, bringing relief to the forest department for having reuniting the cubs with their mother.
