He couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw a cub frolicking near a hut Dahisar Village Under the hot sun, regardless of human-animal tension or even mistrust between the two species.
Villagers adopted two month old leopard cub
diameter, a MBA “I asked villagers about the cub and they told me that it had strayed into the area a few days back,” the Vadodara student told TOI.
The sighting of a leopard in a village bordering the forest area was not unusual. “They said that the two-month-old cub might have been separated from its mother. Instead of panicking, the villagers took it upon themselves to raise the cub and waited for the leopard’s mother to come in search of him.”
Vyas narrated how the cub not only entered the earthen chulhas but also carved a warm cozy place in the hearts of the poor villagers, mainly farmhands. It could move in and out of the house of its own accord and could find a home to sleep at night.
Their houses were small and earnings even less, but this did not stop the villagers from spending on cub food such as chicken and other food. Usually, leopard attacks made people hostile towards the big cat, but it was a pleasant surprise to see the human-animal relationship,” said Partha Vyas.
After playing with it for some time, Vyas also wanted to make the villagers aware of the rules. “I explained that the forest rules make it mandatory for them to inform the authorities about the cub. Their intentions were noble, but the law says that wild animals cannot be kept at home. So, we informed the forest officials who did the same. The cub was rescued on Monday,” said Vyas.
Incidentally, Vyas gave some money to the local people to feed the cub as a sign of appreciation. Range Forest Officer Ranvir Singh Puar praising the villagers for taking care of the cub.RFO), Shivrajpur told TOI, “They saved a life. Such co-existence of wildlife and humans is always appreciated. Now we are searching for the mother of the cub and we are confident that we will find her soon.” Will track you down.”
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