Forest Department workers attached to the Manambolly forest range of the Anamalai Tiger Reserve (ATR) have been doing a unique duty for the last three days.
They take turns to ‘babysit’ three leopard cat (Prionailurus bengalensis) cubs that have taken shelter, along with their mother, in a gap in a firewood stack close to a tea factory at Thonimudi near Valparai. It all began on the night of December 16 when people noticed three feline cubs a few metres away from the firewood stack. They telephoned the Manambolly forest range staff, who rushed to the spot around 9.30 p.m.
“The public initially thought they were leopard cubs. But on a close examination, we found out that they were leopard cat cubs,” Manamobolly ranger A. Manikandan said.
Mr. Manikandan immediately alerted ATR Deputy Director (Pollachi Division) M.G. Ganesan, who told the staff that the cat species was of greater importance in terms of conservation as it is listed on Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, and on the Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.
“Cat families have this habit of shifting their place when noticed by humans, especially when they are with cubs. Hence, we decided to guard the place until the mother relocates the cub to another place,” said ATR Field Director S. Ramasubramanian, who tasked a team with guarding the mother and the cubs.
The team ensures there is no movement of people or vehicles in the area. Lights are switched off at night. Though the cubs came out of the firewood stack a few times, the mother took them back. “Leopard cat is a nocturnal animal which preys mostly on small animals like rodents that are active at night. It also hunts birds perched on bushes...,” he said.
