(Stock Picture Credit: PAL PILLAI/AFP via Getty Images)
Five jungle cat cubs, found in the field of an agricultural farm in India were the subject of an elaborate rescue operation, reports The Indian Express.
A Twitter thread from Parveen Kaswan, an officer of the Indian Forest Service, detailed the incident.
And all the five jungle cat cubs were saved. Found by farmers during harvesting in a field. pic.twitter.com/OvKeUNNnJB
— Parveen Kaswan, IFS (@ParveenKaswan) November 10, 2021
In India, these cats are a respected and protected species, so rescuers hatched a plan to keep them thriving in the wild. Cubs learn crucial survivability from their mother. In order to remain in the wild, the rescuers knew they needed to reunite them with mom.
Harvesting Halted & Cameras Placed
Camera traps were established in the area carefully.
Teams and villagers stationed for the night near the location. So that they can be monitored and no disturbance occur. pic.twitter.com/WMSPvriQXM
— Parveen Kaswan, IFS (@ParveenKaswan) November 10, 2021
When domestic cats find themselves in a precarious situation, rescuing them is much easier. Human interference doesn’t have much consequence. For wild cats, this isn’t the case.
Kaswan’s tweets map out how the rescuers went about achieving their objective: to create an undisturbed and quiet area for mom to hear and return to her cubs, then move them to safety.
“The area was cordoned off,” wrote Kaswan. “Camera traps were established in the area carefully. Teams and villagers were stationed for the night near the location. So that they can be monitored and no disturbance occur.”
Field workers supported the initiative with the halt of harvesting until the cats’ mother could safely remove the cubs from the area.
From there, rescuers monitored the situation through the night.
The Plan Succeeds — Mom Returns In the Night
In night mother came and took all the cubs to Forest. She started this process in evening and by middle of the night shifted all her cubs to the forest. Without any disturbance. Today. pic.twitter.com/FCRRR3XvsF
— Parveen Kaswan, IFS (@ParveenKaswan) November 10, 2021
By evening, mom returned to collect her cubs. Kaswan details that she “started this process in the evening, and by the middle of the night, shifted all her cubs to the forest.”
Within Kaswan’s tweet thread, he also included a video, a little over a minute long, of the adorable jungle cat cubs. Naturally, that clip went viral and has received over 45,000 likes.
Praise for the rescue efforts even came from well-known Bollywood actor Raveena Tandon, in her own heartwarming tweet. She tweeted, “This thread . Makes my day and restores faith , that maybe things arent [sic] that hopeless after all… we have to keep trying .”
We agree with Tandon. This story made our day, as well.
Maybe it’s not so likely that you’ll come across jungle cats where you live, but you may come across domestic kittens, especially during kitten season. CatTime has a full article on what to do if you find kittens here!
What would you do if you found jungle cat cubs in need of help? Have you ever come across a wild cat in need of saving? Then let us know in the comments below.