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Pani-Puri: A tale of mother leopard & her cub

Assumed dead following mother’s death, cub found in SNGP

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Puri captured in camera trap at a Chital kill (inset) Carcass of Pani caught in a camera trap
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For wildlife biologist and wildlife enthusiasts who have been monitoring leopards in and around Aarey, the year started on a tragic note after a female leopard (L28) nicknamed Pani died a painful death after being trapped in a snare at Filmcity on January 1. However, to their relief, her cub (C5) which was called Puri and was assumed to have died without its mother was finally tracked on March 1, thanks to the ongoing camera trapping exercise.

Nikit Surve from Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) - India who has been carrying out camera trapping exercise in and around Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) said that most of them were emotionally attached to Pani who was named so since she was first photographed near a waterhole. The female leopard had been camera trapped in the southern side of the National Park, Film City and parts of Aarey Milk Colony during the years 2015, 2017 and 2018.

As per Surve, Pani was special and close to his heart as she had provided him with a very rare and unforgettable image after being camera trapped in 2015 while dragging a dog as her kill.

“It was in May 2018 during camera trapping we got an image of Pani along with its cub, and the excited volunteers working on the project decided to name the cub Puri so that the mother-cub duo could be called Pani-Puri,” shared Surve.

After the carcass of the female leopard was found on January 1, Surve and his team had set up camera traps all over Filmcity and in the neighbouring areas to locate the cub but in vain. "Most of us thought that it might have died without its mother's protection," added Surve.

However, the joy of the team knew no bound when they found a young cub near a Chital kill at SGNP, Borivali which was identified based on the rosette patterns and turned out to be Puri.

“The male cub who is officially named C5 is around one and a half year old and the image also proved that he had dispersed from Aarey and Filmcity area where he was spotted with his mother initially in 2018 to Borivali SGNP now. We are glad he has survived so far on his own as cubs are known to be with their mother till two years and hope he finds his own territory soon and leans to fend himself,” said a senior SGNP official.

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