Foresters play mother to leopard cubs

29-05-2011
Foresters play mother to leopard cubs
Times of India By HImanshu Kaushik
http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Client.asp?Daily=TOIA&showST=true&login=default&pub=TOI&Enter=true&Skin=TOINEW&AW=1306651090406

The forest department played mother to two leopard cubs that fell into a dry well and remained there for two days. The mother had to be caged to be reunited with the two cubs.

On May 24, the mother leopard and her cubs fell into a four-foot deep well in Khanderi village of Veraval. The leopard jumped out but could not rescue the cubs. She returned the following night to see them but sat helplessly. V S Aparnathi, round forester of Veraval, said on Tuesday he received a call from the Khanderi village about two cubs falling in the dry well on the field of Bachubhai Vala. Aparnathi said according to avillager when he went early morning to his field, he saw the mother trying to rescue her cubs from the well, but when she failed, she left the spot.

He said he was aware that the mother would return for the cubs. For the whole day he kept feeding the two cubs and even offered water and milk in bowls to the two-month-old cubs. He said since they did not have any alternative to unite the cubs with the mother, they decided to trap the mother in the cage. "We kept the cage in such a fashion that if the mother wanted to rescue the cub directly it could do so." Instead, seeing the goat, it first went for the kill and then fell into the trap and reunited with the cubs later.