India's wildlife officials recently reported a leopard cub that reunited with its mother. Specifically, the north-eastern state of Assam villagers discovered the two-month-old female stuck in a tea garden trench.
Wildlife veterinarian Khanin Changmai, BBC News reported, who was called to attend to the cub told the media organization he found the animal "playful and uninjured," although a little dehydrated.
To date, India has over 12,500 leopards. With the shrinking of their habitat, the cats frequently stray into villages close to the forest.
Reports of conflict between humans and animals have been growing in recent years across the nation as leopards enter the villages and kill livestock. Sometimes, they have entered crowded places and attacked people, too.
Leopard Cub Meets Her Mother
The most recent occurrence, which happened in Natun Gaon village in Tinsukia districts on May 23, has recently been reported by wild officials.
Dr. Changmai, the Wildlife Trust of India veterinarian, said, there was panic in the villages nearby when tea pluckers spotted the leopard in the tea garden. The animal fled after an alarm was raised.
The vet said the owner of the plantation was led to the trench after hearing the crying of the cub. Since the young leopard could not come up on her own, the villagers rescued and took her to a nearby residence.
According to Dr. Changmai, he gave the cub 15 to 20 ml of ORS or oral rehydration solution, as explained on the National Library of Medicine site, to address her dehydration.
The village is near a pair of small sanctuaries. It is also separated by a river from the Dibru-Soikhowa national Park, home to leopards, tigers, and other wild animals.
Reunited
The veterinarian said the villages were apprehensive that the leopard would go back to find the cub and insisted that she'd be taken away and set a trap as well, to catch the mother, although they were convinced that they should not interfere and leave the cub where they had discovered her.
The cub has been, was taken back to the site, contained in a cardboard box, slightly sealed with tape to guarantee that it could not get out on its own, although the mother would be able to tear it open.
They had the leopard checked again in the evening, and there and then, she was given some more ORS. Camera traps had been set up to monitor the place. More so, the villages kept an eye to guarantee dogs would not attack them, explained Changmai.
In the evening, less than 12 hours after they got separated, the mother leopard found the box and rescued her cub, the vet added.
Earlier Reunion
A similar incident happened when The Indian Express, through MSN News, reported that Wildlife SOS and the Maharashtra Forest department helped reunite another mother leopard with her cub after the latter was discovered by farmers in Bori village, in Otur forest range of Junnar.
At the time of this report, Wildlife SOS and Maharashtra Forest department have successfully reunited 90 cubs so far, with their mothers.
That particular evening, Brovi village farmers stumbled about a small leopard cub just as they were going back home from the sugarcane fields.
Worried for the cub's welfare, they instantly got in touch with Maharashtra Forest department, which in turn, got in touch with Wildlife SOS for an early mediation.
Related information is shown on the Animal Rescue India's YouTube video below:
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