First leopard reunion of new harvest season in Maharashtra

During the harvest season in the state of Maharashtra, farmers find more than just sugarcane in the fields—they also find little leopard cubs!

In what marked the first reunion of leopards in the new harvest season, a 45-day-old female leopard cub met with her mother near Tejewadi village in Junnar in the Pune district.

The cub was found by villagers while harvesting crops in a sugarcane field last week.

Accustomed to catching occasional glimpses of leopards around the area, the farmers immediately reported the incident to the Maharashtra Forest Department. Soon after the cub was rescued by the forest officials and it was brought to the Manikdoh Leopard Rescue Centre in Junnar which is operated by Wildlife SOS.

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After a mandatory health check-up by the Wildlife SOS veterinary officer, it was found that the cub was a female, aged approximately 45 days old.

To make the reunion a success, the team waited until nightfall to set the operation in motion. The Wildlife SOS team returned to the same location and placed the cub in a safe box. Camera traps placed to monitor the cub captured the joyful moment of the mother taking her cub away to safety.

Dr. Chandan Sawane, Veterinary Officer, Wildlife SOS said: “As leopards are primarily nocturnal animals, they are most active at night. That is why reunions are planned during this time. We conducted a medical examination to rule out any health issues and following protocol, we carefully implanted the cub with a microchip before the release. This method makes it easy to identify leopards in the wild, and allows us to study their range and territory.”

Kartick Satyanarayan, Co-founder and CEO, Wildlife SOS said: “Reunions are successful because all the parties involved including the villagers, farmers and the forest department perform their part. This is ultimately helpful in the broader context of leopard conservation as one more leopard gets to live out its life in the wild.”