Pune: Two leopard cubs, discovered and reunited in one evening!

Pune, 19th April 2022: Two leopard cubs discovered on April 17th during sugarcane harvesting were swiftly reunited with their mother the same night by the Eco-Daund, RESQ Charitable Trust, Pune and members of the Junnar Forest Department.

The cubs were discovered on the morning of 17th April in a sugarcane field owned by farmers Sunil and Narayan Wagh in Ambegaon, Pune.

The cubs were healthy, active and alert. The harvesting was halted immediately with the help of the Wagh farmers. ” Halting the harvesting process is imperative in any reunion as any major disturbance to the habitat can affect the outcome of the reunion.”, said Nachiket Awadhani, ECO Daund. “We were happy that the community was cooperative, aware and understanding of the situation, without which this reunion would not have been possible,” said Smita Rajahans, Range Forest Officer, Manchar.

A reunion was set up at 7:00 PM, the cubs were safely placed in a crate where the mother could easily access them and live cameras were set up to monitor the cubs and their safety remotely.  In a couple of hours, around 8:30 PM as the human activity around the farm reduced the mother leopard showed up. She carefully assessed the situation and moved the cubs away to a safer location, one by one. The reunion was a success!

“Just in 2022, the RESQ team along with the Forest Department have facilitated positive intervention for 10 leopards, that have been found near human-dominated landscapes either in conflict scenarios. This along with the local community awareness programs has helped diffuse any possible human-animal conflict situations, making people more aware of the wildlife that surrounds them and how to safely coexist with them.”, says Neha Panchamia, Founder & President, RESQ Charitable Trust, Pune.

Leopards are no longer considered to be surprise visitors around human-dominated landscapes and the only way to minimize any potential conflict is to raise awareness amongst the locals about how to peaceful exist with them. The RESQ Team through one of its projects has created awareness material using the local art form of Bharud called “बिबट्या वैरी नाही, शेजारी! – a message from people coexisting with Leopards” which is available on YouTube, to spread awareness among local communities about the rising human-leopard conflict.

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