It was an ordinary October afternoon in the Hirisave village of Channarayapatna taluk, Hassan district, Karnataka, when Deputy Range Forest Officer Shankar K N and DCF Hassan, IFS Saurabh Kumar, received a call that would set off a remarkable chain of events.
During sugarcane harvesting, farmers discovered three tiny leopard cubs abandoned in the field. Noting how unusual it was to find cubs separated from their mother at this time, the villagers informed the forest department, who immediately reached the spot.
The farmer had already touched the cubs in an attempt to rescue them, thus marking their human scent on them, unaware of the delicate situation and the fact that mother leopards tend to disown their cubs if they find any human interference. Forest officers swiftly took custody of the cubs and instructed the villagers to stop harvesting. Every second counted, and any kind of disturbance could cost the lives of the little ones.
Indian Masterminds exclusively spoke with both officers to learn more about the beautiful rescue and reunion story of the mother leopard with her three tiny and fragile cubs.
THE MOTHER’S FIRST REJECTION
When the team first tried to reunite the cubs with their mother, the response was heartbreaking. Despite their proximity, the mother refused to accept them. Any human touch, however gentle, had caused her to reject her own babies.
“Because the farmers had touched the cubs, the mother wouldn’t come. She simply refused to take them back. We were scared that she might have abandoned them and moved to a different territory. Cubs this young could not have survived without their mother,” Shankar told Indian Masterminds.
To restore the natural bond, the team used an age-old wildlife technique. They collected the cubs’ urine and carefully rubbed it onto their fur. This masked the human scent and helped the mother recognise her babies once more. It was a quiet, painstaking effort, requiring immense patience and hope.
CRATES, CAMERAS, AND NIGHTTIME VIGIL
That evening, the cubs were placed in tomato trays, with six camera traps tied around to monitor every movement. The officers waited, tense with anticipation. By morning, only one cub had been reclaimed by the mother. A couple of days later, she returned and took away the second cub with her.
But one twist added tension: during one attempt, a cub accidentally wandered into the crate while another stayed outside. Only the cub outside was taken, leaving the team anxious for the remaining baby.
During this period, the officers made another difficult decision. The cubs were taken home for care. Leaving them out during the day could dehydrate them, and keeping them unfed risked starvation.
“One day, because we fed the cub, it didn’t make any noise, so the mother didn’t come,” Shankar explained. “We decided not to feed it in the afternoon, and with a heavy heart, encouraged its cries to guide her back.”
Every decision was a balance of instinct and observation, ensuring the cubs stayed healthy while respecting the mother’s natural behaviours. DCF Saurabh Kumar added, “If a human intervenes too much, the mother may not return. We had to act with patience, common sense, and passion.”
A CHALLENGE AWAITS
After 4 days of dedicated care and careful observation came the heartbreaking realisation: the mother failed to come for the last cub.
It was a challenge that required extraordinary effort. DCF Kumar joined the mission. A dog squad from Bhadra Tiger Reserve was deployed, tracing the mother’s scent over more than ten kilometres of forest terrain. Fresh pugmarks led them to a location roughly one kilometre away, where the mother was found with two cubs, waiting, vigilant, and nurturing.
THE FINAL, EMOTIONAL REUNION
With the mother located, the team shifted the lone cub to the new site. That evening, at 6:30 PM, the mother finally arrived to reclaim her third baby. The reunion was nothing short of magical: three cubs, one by one, were back in the embrace of the mother who had refused them only a week before. “By evening, unlike before, the mother came and took her cub,” Shankar said, his voice filled with emotion.
In the span of seven days, a meticulous combination of patience, strategy, and compassion had saved three young lives. Each cub was accounted for, healthy, and now inseparably reunited with the mother. The villagers who had inadvertently discovered the cubs became witnesses to a profound moment of trust and understanding between humans and nature.
LESSONS IN CARE, PATIENCE, AND RESPECT
The officers’ efforts extended beyond mere rescue. Each decision – when to feed, when to remain silent, when to use crates and when to use camera traps – was guided by a deep understanding of wildlife behaviour.
In the end, it was not technology alone that brought success. It was empathy, respect, and the commitment of those who understood the delicate rhythms of the wild. The mother now roams freely with her cubs, her trust in humans silently honoured, a reminder that sometimes the greatest acts of heroism are measured in patience and love.
