An 11-month-old leopard was rescued from Ujjaini – Umariya village on Sunday morning.
The female cub had hunted a goat in the Kampel area on Friday night. The incident was reported and following the same, the forest team led by forest ranger Pushplata Mourya had set a trap in the area.
“The leopard was confirmed to have been found after tracing Pugmark,” Mourya said.
The leopard cub reached the village in search of prey again on Saturday night. Reaching for the prey, the cub was caught in the trap and found imprisoned in the morning.
Villagers saw the cub trapped in the cage growling loudly. On hearing about this, a rescue team of the forest department along with city zoo officials reached the village and found the cub.
The cub was checked for injuries and examined for health issues. As per the report shared by city zoo in-charge Dr Uttam Yadav, the cub is healthy and a good hunter.
Forest Ranger Suresh Barole said, “Some farm houses have been built behind the forest located near the water park in Kampel.” He added that the leopard has been rescued from there.
In Umaria village, the cub had hunted Bhole Singh's goat in his farmhouse on Friday-Saturday.
Rescue Operation
Trap was set in the fields as soon as the forest department got the information of the hunt, as shared by Barole.
Putting the goat's baby in it, he caught the leopard. The leopard was imprisoned in the cage at 5 am Sunday after 24 hours of effort. Forest staff rescued and released the leopard into the zoo for treatment.
Three forest workers, including Deputy Ranger TR Hatila, Rajesh Nagawade, Rajaram Kalyanay, Sher Singh Katara conducted the rescue operation.
The rescued leopard cub
As shared by Yadav, the female cub is about 10 to 11 months old. “The cub is old enough to hunt, but would not have left and de-attached from the mother as yet,” he said.
Yadav added that normally mothers remain with cubs in leopards for 1 year and a couple of months. “There is a possibility that mother and other cubs are around in the area,” he said.
Two more traps set to catch the family
Mourya said that there are two to three more leopards in the areas. To catch them, the department has installed two cages and cameras at four different locations.
The team inspected the forest and as per villagers attempted to look for pugmarks of two other leopards.
Extra responsibility to protect leopards
After the last major rescue of leopards from Nayapura forest area being found with 46 shrapnel from its head, the department has major responsibility in ensuring safety of leopards in Indore division. The department is now taking every step in this matter very carefully.
The villagers have been given responsibility to protect the leopards from hunters. Forest officials asked the villagers to keep an eye out for other leopards. Even emphasis has been given on providing information about the activities of hunters.
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