1 leopard cub rescued, another killed in Nashik

A leopard cub was rescued while another lost its life in Nashik on Thursday. One cub had entered a bungalow and was taken to safety by the Forest department officials, while the other one was not so fortunate. It was killed in a hit-and-run on the highway.

Mohini Phadkar, wife of Colonel (R) Phadkar, stays with her daughter in Ashwin Society's Janaki bungalow in Jai Bhavani Nagar. She was going towards the gate to fetch milk around 7.30am on Thursday when she saw a leopard cub run across.

Frightened, Phadkar asked her daughter to lock the house and stay inside, while she herself got into a car parked nearby. The Forest department and police were called. By this time, a huge crowd had gathered to see the cub. The police managed to keep the crowd at bay, so that Forest officials could do their work.

The Forest officials laid a net over the washing area where it was hiding, but the frightened cub refused to move. The officials then hit him with a tranquilising dart. The unconscious cub was then carried on a stretcher to the Nehru Botanical Garden. All this while for about three hours, Phadkar kept sitting inside the car.

In another incident on the same day, a leopard cub was found dead on the Mumbai-Agra highway, possibly after being hit by a vehicle in the night. Post-mortem revealed that the three-year-old female was hit on the chest.