Sumanth Madhav, V. Jaishankar and K.N. Suresh Kumar have been closely working with the State Forest Department reuniting leopard cubs that are either picked up by villagers or sometimes by forest staff itself when their mothers are away hunting. Out of five cases the trio, who run an organisation called Vanamitra, has successfully reunited five cubs with their mothers in Mysore and Kundapur Districts.
If not for them these cubs would have ended up spending a lifetime in zoos or animal rehabilitation centres. The team had their first success in June 2010 when, after a wait of six long nights, the mother returned to pick up the cubs. The second reunion was also conducted in T. Narasipura where the mother returned to pick up all three cubs. In March 2011, the team guided forest officials to reunite a single cub, which was picked up by villagers Kundapur, with its mother.
Here's how it works: Once the trio is tipped off about a cub, a recce is conducted of the forest area or the field, for possible signs of the mother visiting the cubs. The team also gathers information from villagers and forest staff working in the area about the movement of the mother leopard before they place the cubs, and wait for mother. Since leopards usually venture outside the forests during the night all reunion operations are conducted after dark. The cubs are placed at the site and the team waits far from the cubs so that the mother does not shy away. An area where the cubs are placed is soaked so that pug marks of the mother leopard or any other predator, can be seen and recorded. Read the full report here.
Source: Deccan Chronicle, Bengaluru.
