Adorable leopard cub is abandoned in a sugarcane field after Indian villagers scared off its mother
A 10-week-old baby leopard was left to fend for itself on the outskirts of a village in Nashik, Maharashtra in India
A four-month-old leopard cub was rescued earlier from a neighbouring village
Conflicts between humans and leopards are common in the area
The 10-week-old baby was left to fend for itself in Nashik, Maharashtra in India
A tiny leopard cub has been found alone in a sugarcane field after his mother was forced to abandon her baby by local villagers.
The adorable 10-week-old baby leopard was left to fend for itself on the outskirts of a village in Nashik, Maharashtra in India.
Farmers out harvesting sugarcane in fields near Mhalsa Kore village stumbled upon the cuddly leopard cub.
The cub was rescued and is currently recovering in his new home at the Manikdoh Leopard Rescue Centre, where he was checked over by vets
Just months earlier, a four-month-old female leopard cub was rescued from a neighbouring village.
Conflicts between humans and leopards are common in the area, often forcing mother leopards to abandon their cubs.
Worried for their own safety as well as that of the cub's, the farmers who found the baby in the sugarcane field contacted the Forest Department.
The cub was rescued and is currently recovering in his new home at the Manikdoh Leopard Rescue Centre, run by charity Wildlife SOS in collaboration with the Forest Department.
Vets said the leopard cub was 'quite weak' and is being treated with multivitamin supplements
Vets at the centre identified the cub as a male and estimated he is around three months old.
Leopard cubs are dependent on their mothers for the first two years of their lives.
Foresters made several attempts made to reunite the lost cub with its mother, but the adult leopard failed to return to the site in search of her missing baby.
The cub will now be raised alongside the other female baby at rescue centre, which currently houses a total of 34 leopards that are not fit to be released back into the wild.
'He is slightly weak and we have currently put him on multivitamin supplements. We will have to hand rear the cub as he can no longer be returned to the wild' said Dr Ajay Deshmukh, Senior Veterinarian at the Manikdoh Leopard Rescue Center.
Leopard cubs are dependent on their mothers for the first two years of their lives, so he will now have to be reared by hand
Forester Salunke added: 'We made several attempts to reunite the cub with its mother but she never showed up.
'The cub will now be under the permanent care of Wildlife SOS, who are also currently rearing the female leopard cub, rescued earlier this year.'
Kartick Satyanarayan, Co-founder of Wildlife SOS said: 'This is the second leopard cub to have been rescued in the last two months. Cubs this young cannot survive on their own as young leopards are dependent on their mothers for the first two years of their lives.
'The cub is now under the care and observation of our team of dedicated veterinarians and staff. '
(The Mail, UK)
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