Its harvest time for farmers in Pilibhit, part of the expansive sugarcane belt of Uttar Pradesh. Last week when young Hariprasad in Pilibhit’s Nizampur village went to harvest the crop he stumbled upon a leopard inside the dense tall standing crop thicket. Surprised, cornered and scared the animal leaped to escape but not before clawing Hariprasad who screamed in fright.

Luckily, Hariprasad escaped with minor injuries. In a close encounter with a big cat, one gets mauled and grievously injured.

At the peak of harvest, the villagers had to call off their harvest and inform the forest officials. Pilibhit also has a tiger reserve.  And tigers, leopards and other wildlife routinely use the tall sugarcane crop for breeding or to disperse to other adjoining forest patches. Alongside Uttar Pradesh Forest Department, WTI’s Terai Tiger Project Team was also pressed into action to look into the incident. When Aman Bhatia, WTI’s wildlife biologist reached the spot he was quick to analyse the situation and confirm the presence of a leopard in the sugarcane field.

Securing the area, Photo by Aman Bhatia

But what came around after further investigation was a big surprise. The leopard pugmarks led to a thicket where the team found five newborn cubs, barely a week old. Aman also noticed that the mother lay hidden in the adjoining crop field and she was watching all that was happening. To prevent any further panic and turmoil the Forest Department cordoned off the entire area to minimise disturbance. Divisional Forest Officer Aadarsh Kumar, IFS, also provided valuable inputs for the operations and pacified the villagers. Green shade nets were also brought into the scene to protect the leopard cubs from the blazing heat.

Leopard cubs, Photo by Aman Bhatia

WTI deployed camera traps at strategic spots to keep an eye on the leopard cubs.  From past experience, it was expected that the leopard would come back and shift its cubs to a safer place.

Setting up the camera traps

While checking the camera footage on the next day, it was found that their assumptions were on the track. Our camera recorded the leopard mother coming out of the dark and collecting her little ones.

Four out of five cubs were taken back by the mother, but the last one was still in the field. After consulting with Dr. Bhaskar Choudhury, WTI senior veterinarian, and DFO Aadarsh Kumar, the last cub was given the necessary veterinary care. The villagers also stood up to the occasion and helped the team.

On April 24, WTI team checked the cameras again and found that the last cub was also taken back during the night. The long wait was finally over, the leopard family was reunited. But still, WTI’s duties were not over, Aman along with the locals are still monitoring the area to keep track of the animal’s movement.

Leopard mother collecting a cub at night, Photo by Aman Bhatia

This successful reunion wouldn’t have been possible without the efforts of farmers like Omprakash, Puttulal, Ramesh, Sarjeet, Ankit, and the unanimous support of a whole village.

WTI’s Terai Tiger Project is supported by Chester Zoo, US Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Uttar Pradesh Forest Department. Click here to know more about the project.