3 leopard cubs spotted, caught near Nashik

Two leopard cubs were spotted by villagers in a cane field where they were working, and they were caught with the help of forest officials in Dangsoundane village of Satana tehsil a few days ago.

Leopards and cubs have been spotted roaming about in the region often and in this incident the cubs were seen in the fields on Thursday. The workers tried to catch them and managed to trap one of them while the other got away.

The incident happened in the afternoon and they handed over the cub to forest officials. Dangsoundane is about 80km northeast of Nashik.

Anxious that the mother of the cubs might be around searching for the two, the owner of the field requested the officials to set up a trap. The officials have advised the villagers to stay out of the fields for a few days at least.

Also on Thursday, in Inshi village of Kalwan tehsil, a leopard cub was hurt when its paw was caught in a cage for wild pigs. Forest officials, who were called to the village, tracked the blood-stained pug marks of the year-and-a-half old animal and found it some distance away.

The female cub has been taken to the Nehru botanical garden in Nashik where it is being treated. It would be looked after at an animal shelter in Junnar till the injury heals.

The forest officials also reported a calf was killed in an apparent leopard attack in Ambasan village. This is an a new concern for the villagers who have been pained by the loss of crops in unseasonal rain over the past few days.