SURAT: For any child, separation from the mother even if for a few moments is indeed very stressful. And, when that disconnection extends to 13-long hours, the wait gets compounded with uncertainty too, especially in the wild.
Therefore, when a set of three leopard cubs got reunited with their mother, the heart-warming scene that unfolded in Patal village of Surat district on Thursday night was indeed one for the albums.
The leopard, who accidentally got detached from her cubs, took almost two-and-a-half hours to ensure their safety before letting her guard down and giving in to her maternal instincts. The happy reunion, licking and cuddling the cubs, did not leave any eyes dry that summer night.
A villager had first spotted two of the cubs in the ravine. He soon alerted other villagers and also called in the forest officials. The cubs were rescued and examined. The officials also decided to reunite them with their mother and so they were radio-tagged and taken to the spot in the evening.
“Meanwhile, we heard some noise and found the third cub. We placed all three in a basket on top of a small cage,” said U D Raulji, range forest officer, Mandvi south.
Forest teams also placed three trap cameras and one CCTV camera at the spot to capture the incident.
