Chennai, Dec 25 (IANS) A leopard cub rescued from a residential area at the Marudhamalai foothills near Coimbatore was found dead early on Thursday, while the Forest department was attempting to reunite it with its mother, officials said.
The cub had been rescued on Wednesday (December 24) after it was discovered inside a house located at the foothills of Marudhamalai.
Following the rescue, forest officials initiated standard reunion protocols aimed at allowing the mother leopard to retrieve the cub naturally, a method commonly adopted to ensure the young animal’s survival in the wild.
Acting on the directions of District Forest Officer N. Jayaraj, the cub was placed inside a cave-like enclosure constructed using natural rocks in a nearby forest patch. The structure was designed to mimic a natural den and was kept under continuous surveillance using camera traps and field monitoring to track the movements of the mother leopard.
According to forest officials, sounds believed to be those of a leopard were heard near the enclosure at around 4.15 a.m. When personnel inspected the site at approximately 5 a.m., they found that the cub was no longer inside the structure.
A subsequent review of camera trap footage revealed that two leopards had visited the area between about 1.45 a.m. and 4.30 a.m. The footage also showed that the cub had moved out of the cave-like structure around 4.30 a.m., after which its movements could no longer be tracked on camera.
Alarmed by the development, two teams of forest staff were immediately deployed to comb the surrounding forest area. At around 5.30 a.m., the cub was located approximately 300 metres away from the original enclosure.
Officials said the animal was found unresponsive, and upon examination, it was confirmed that the cub had died. Forest department officials stated that the exact cause of death would be determined only after a post-mortem examination.
The autopsy will be conducted in accordance with prescribed wildlife protocols and in the presence of representatives from voluntary organisations, to ensure transparency.
Officials reiterated that the reunion attempt followed established guidelines and said further details would be shared after the post-mortem report is available.
–IANS
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