Reintroducing leopard cubs to the wild

Two clouded leopard cubs wearing radio collars were released into the Ripu forest in the Indian state of Bodoland.

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© Photo : IFAW

Two clouded leopard cubs wearing radio collars were released into the Ripu forest in the Indian state of Bodoland.

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© Photo : IFAW

The orphaned clouded leopard cubs were rescued by the Assam Forest Department in March last year. They were nursed to health and raised at an IFAW-supported mobile veterinary station. In September 2009, the two cubs were relocated to Manas National Park for in situ acclimatization that took eight months.

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© Photo : IFAW

At first they were let out in the daytime but spent the night in a spacious and safe enclosure. For the past two months the cubs have been out in the wild fulltime.

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© Photo : IFAW

Since the cubs are now free to move about, the rehabilitators decided to attach radio-collars to track their movement.

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© Photo : IFAW

Except for exceptional cases of environmental research, the tree-dwelling feline has never before come under the direct observation of environmentalists.

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© Photo : IFAW

In contrast with common leopard species, the clouded leopard lives in forested terrain and only hunts specific animals.

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© Photo : IFAW

The radio collars will help the rehabilitators monitor the movement of the cubs, who will soon leave human care and begin exploring on their own.

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© Photo : IFAW

The collars are expandable and have a service life of about a year. They will stretch and fall off as they become worn.

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© Photo : IFAW

This is the first recorded case of rehabilitation and reintroduction of the clouded leopard into the wild in India.