Leopard rescued in Surat for the second time in seven months

SURAT: In an unexpected reunion within seven months, forest officials were surprised to find that a leopard they had recently rescued from a well in Mandvi of Surat district was the same that was saved as a cub in October last year. The female leopard cub had suffered serious injuries that damaged vision in one eye earlier. This time, the leopard fell into a well nearly 30 foot deep while chasing prey.
Forest officials were happy that the leopard cub has survived and is growing healthy. This time too, the cub was rescued and released safely. The leopard was identified through Radio Frequency Identification (RFID).
The cub was earlier rescued while injured near Tarsada village. “It was around three months old and had an injury on its face. It used to fall even while standing due to the vision loss in one eye,” said U D Raulji, range forest officer, Mandvi.
The leopard was hit by some vehicle while crossing the road and separated from its mother. It was later treated at Mandvi, but as its condition did not improve, it was sent to Navsari Veterinary College for treatment. After treatment for over two weeks, its condition improved.
“We kept the cub near a spot where the mother leopard frequented daily with another cub. After checking the cub for two days, she picked it up on the third day,” Raulji added.
Due to its long stay with the forest team, the adorable cub was named Rani. On the 19th day since its rescue, the cub was reunited with its mother. The forest team installed an RFID chip in the cub.
On May 22, it had fallen into a well near Tarsada and was unable to come out on its own. Forest team used a fiber cage to rescue the leopard. Since the leopard was rescued in a cage, its RFID could be checked.
“It is an unusual reunion in a short period and we could identify the leopard due to the RFID. It was rescued for the second time in seven months,” said Puneet Nayyar, deputy conservator of forest, Surat.
So far, 45 leopards have been tagged with RFID in Surat district forest area. Of these, 12 were rescued again by forest officials and their identity could be confirmed. “RFID helps us monitor movement of leopards. Majority of the leopards in the district are tagged with RFID and we can confirm that they are safe along with the humans in that area,” Nayyar added.