Kokrajhar (Assam): An orphaned pair of clouded leopard cubs, rescued from villagers planning to sell it, is being hand raised by an BTC-IFAW-WTI (Bodoland Territorial Council – International Fund for Animal Welfare – Wildlife Trust of India) team in India’s north-east Assam state for possible long term rehabilitation in the wild.
One of the rarest wild cats, which lives up in the trees, the clouded leopard (Neofelis nebulosa) is nocturnal and extremely shy. Classified as vulnerable by IUCN the these cats are found largely in the semi-evergreen and rain forests of India’s north-east. Indian laws accord Clouded leopards the highest level of protection.
The cubs were confiscated by a team of Assam Forest Department officials, led by Sonali Ghosh, DFO, Kokrajhar, from a resident of Khanthalmari village in Kokrajhar district, Assam, last week.
“The villager claims to have found the cubs alone, and brought them along; the mother might have been killed,” said Bhaskar Choudhury, Assistant Manager of Wild Rescue programme, IFAW-WTI (International Fund for Animal Welfare – Wildlife Trust of India).
The animals have been handed over to the Lower Assam unit of the Mobile Veterinary Services, operated by IFAW-WTI Emergency Relief team along with the Assam Forest Department. The cubs are reportedly gaining weight.
“This is the first time clouded leopards have been admitted to the IFAW-WTI rescue facilities in northeast India. The rescue of this species from the proposed Greater Manas area provides an important indicator of the continued presence of this species in the Indo-Bhutan region,” said Choudhury.
After a month of stabilisation at the MVS Lower Assam field station, the animals will be transferred to the Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation in Kaziranga for hand raising and possible subsequent long-term rehabilitation programme.
