PUNE: Officials of the Sangamner forest department have rescued a pair of three-month-old leopard cubs trapped in a nearly 100-feet deep well in Digras village, Sangamner on Thursday.
The orphaned cubs are currently under temporary care at the Manikdoh Leopard Rescue Centre.
Occupants of Digras village, Sangamner were shocked to find two baby leopards trapped in the well. They contacted the Forest Department for help. The cubs were rescued by forest officers, who later tried tracking down the mother. Unfortunately, they found that the leopardess had fallen into another well nearby and drowned.
Dr Ajay Deshmukh, Senior Veterinarian at the Wildlife SOS Manikdoh Leopard Rescue Centre said, “The cubs must have been wandering in search of food and fell into the uncovered well. It is a miracle they were found alive. We are closely monitoring their health as they are susceptible to health issues and are quite delicate at this age.”
Kartick Satyanarayan, Co-founder and CEO Wildlife SOS said, “Young cubs cannot survive on their own as they are dependent on their mothers for the first two years of their lives. We are grateful to the Forest Department for entrusting us with the care and treatment of the two orphaned leopards.”
Harshal Parekar, Range Forest Officer, Sangamner said, “On receiving information about the cubs, we mobilised our team to carry out the rescue. Since, they needed expert care, we placed them in the safe hands of the Wildlife SOS team.”
