(IN) WTI rescues Clouded Leopards in Assam

April 8, 2009

IFAW-WTI hand raising rare clouded leopard cubs in Assam

*Kokrajhar (Assam), March 27, 2009: An orphaned pair of clouded leopard

cubs, rescued from villagers planning to sell it, is being hand raised by an

IFAW-WTI 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). *

** *Dr Prabhat Basumatary, veterinary surgeon, MVS Lower Assam, with the

rescued cubs *

*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.*

Recommended Posts