Leopardess missing, 2 cubs shifted to Gorewada

Nagpur: The two newborn leopard cubs that were found abandoned in a paper mill in Ashti, under Allapalli forest division of Gadchiroli, were shifted to Gorewada Rescue Centre here on Sunday night.
The cubs are said to be around 15 days old. It is suspected that their mother may have been poached as a leopardess never moves away from her cubs.
Locals who first noticed the cubs had handled them and clicked videos and photos.
Talking to TOI, Gadchiroli conservator of forests (CF) Kishore Mankar said, “The cubs were found on October 14, and for three days we had made all attempts to reunite them with the mother, but to no avail.”
Mankar ruled out the possibility of the leopardess having been poached. “People have heard growling of the animal and we suspect it to be very much there.” However, not a single picture has been recorded in the camera traps deployed in the area, he said, adding after the failed attempts, we decided to hand over the cubs to the rescue centre.
“On October 1, a male leopard was trapped in a cage from the paper mill area and sent to Gorewada. The leopard is said to have a conflict history. The animal had injured four persons and killed an 8-year-old boy last month, besides lifting goats,” said Mankar.
Sources said, “Considering the flared up conflict near the paper mill area, the idea was to trap the mother leopard and then send the entire family to Gorewada. Even now attempts are being made to trap the leopardess.”
“If there is no conflict after the male leopard has been captured, why the female is being trapped. This means, the forest department is not sure which leopard is the problem animal,” said locals NGOs.
Meanwhile, Gorewada divisional manager Pramod Panchbhai said, “The cubs are stressed and are not in a good condition. However, they are responding to goat milk.”