Lost baby leopards rescued and reunited with their mums in one day

Wildlife officials managed to rescue two leopard cubs and reunite them with their mothers in western India.

Sugarcane farmers in Vadgaon Anand village near Junnar stumbled upon a lone leopard cub, while out harvesting their crops on March 11.

It is not uncommon for farmers in the region to see young leopard cubs taking up shelter amidst the tall, dense vegetation.

On receiving an alert, Forest Department officials and a Wildlife SOS team operating out of the Manikdoh Leopard Rescue Center rushed to rescue the cub.

But en-route to the location, the Wildlife SOS rescue team received a call about a similar situation that had arisen at Golegaon village, in Junnar.

The villagers had sighted a leopard cub on the periphery of the sugarcane field, adjoining their village. Consequently, the team split up midway to carry out both rescues simultaneously.

On-site medical examinations confirmed that both leopard cubs were healthy and ready to be reunited with their mothers.

The cubs were carefully placed inside safe boxes, close to where they were found and the mothers returned in the night to collect their babies.

Dr. Ajay Deshmukh, Senior Veterinarian at the Manikdoh Leopard Rescue Centre said, ''Such reunions are of great importance in order to curb conflict situations. If female leopards are unable to locate their cubs, it is natural for them to turn
aggressive and pose an immediate threat to humans in close proximity.''

''It is also immensely rewarding to know that these cubs will now have a chance at a free life in the wild,'' he added.