Leopard cubs shifted to Mysore

September 21, 2014 11:17 pm | Updated 11:18 pm IST - MYSORE

Two leopard cubs which were found in a sugarcane field at Kalahalli were shifted to veterinary hospital after they were  found abandoned by their  mother. PHOTO: M.A.SRIRAM

Two leopard cubs which were found in a sugarcane field at Kalahalli were shifted to veterinary hospital after they were found abandoned by their mother. PHOTO: M.A.SRIRAM

Two of the three leopard cubs found in a sugarcane field at Kalahalli on Friday have been shifted to Mysore for treatment as they were found to be in an emaciated condition.

The authorities will take them back to the same area on Monday in a bid to reunite the cubs with their mother.

The cubs were found in the field of a farmer, Cheluvegowda, and the forest officials had kept a watch on the cubs hoping their mother would return. A senior forest officer said though the leopard did come to the field on Friday night, it did not approach the cubs and later disappeared after a female cub had died.

The Forest Department had deployed its staff to keep a watch on the cubs to ensure that they do not come into contact with human beings as it is reckoned that leopards abandon their young ones if there was human contact.

Deputy Conservator of Forests V. Karikalan told The Hindu that the cubs are nearly a month old and though they are healthy, their movements had slowed down. “While one of the cubs had died, we did not want to take a chance with the other two and shifted them to Mysore for treatment,” he said.

The two cubs were given vitamins and milk. “We do not want to hand-rear them and the best option is to try and reunite the cubs with its mother,” Mr. Karikalan said.

Meanwhile, the villagers have completed harvesting of sugarcane. The Forest Department officials plan to keep the cubs in the open field hoping for their mother to return.

If it does not, then the officials will decide on whether to shift them to the Mysore zoo or to Bannerghatta Animal Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre.

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