Over the years, leopards have been continuously forced to leave their forested homes and move out into buffer areas due to deforestation, habitat encroachment, and poaching. These wild cats have learned to adapt by moving into farmer’s sugarcane fields to breed and rear their babies.
One day, sugarcane farmers in Takali Haji village, located in the Shirur range in Maharashtra, India, were harvesting their crops when they discovered four leopard cubs crying on the ground. Their eyes were barely open, and they were huddled together for warmth and comfort.
Farmers were shocked to see the cubs with burns and scars, mewing with pain, and at that moment, they knew they had to do something to help the leopards. So, they contacted a forest officer and a rescue team from Wildlife SOS to save the cubs. The little leopards needed treatment immediately, so rescuers quickly carried them towards the rescue van. The rescue team worked swiftly to ensure the cub’s health and figure out a plan to reunite the family.
They placed the cubs inside a safe box and took them back to the field. Also, they set up a hidden camera to monitor and record the reunion. Within an hour, a leopardess finally emerged from the neighboring forest.
She suddenly stopped when she realized her cubs were in the plastic box. She peered in at her babies, caressed them, and licked them till they mellowed down. She then gingerly used her mouth to carry them back into the woods.
The video below shows the heartwarming moment when the mother and cubs meet once more. The little wild family couldn’t be reunited if the farmers and rescuers hadn’t stepped in just in time to help. I’m happy to see the wild leopard reunite with her cubs lost in the sugarcane field.
Watch the video here!
H/T: The Dodo