Wildlife volunteers rescue leopard cub from 30ft well in India

This is the heartwarming moment a lost leopard cub is rescued from a 30ft well and reunited with its mother in western India.

Footage captured in the village of Pargaon in the state of Maharashtra shows a team of wildlife volunteers tactfully lower a cage into the well in an effort to coax the three-month-old female cub into it.

The creature, who had fallen into the deep well after becoming separated from its mother, eventually jumps into the makeshift cage before being pulled to safety.  

After the rescue, the forest department and the rescue team were able to track down the animal’s mother within 24 hours and reunite the pair.

During the clip, which was captured on a GoPro camera, a team of volunteers attach ropes to a metal cage and gently lower it from all side into the well.

The cub appears alarmed at first and jumps into the water before swimming to the other side.     

After 20 minutes, the animal crawls inside the cage and rescuers pull it out of the hole in the ground. 

The leopard was first discovered when locals, who went out to work in the fields, found the animal struggling to stay afloat in the water.  

They informed the forest department who sought the help of RESQ – a wildlife charitable trust. 

Neha Panchamiya, the founder and president of RESQ, said her team packed up their technical wildlife rescue gear within 20 minutes of hearing about the lost leopard and immediately rushed to the animal’s location.  

She said: ‘A small female leopard cub was discovered by a locals in Pargaon struggling to stay afloat in a deep well and within 20 mins, we packed up all our technical wildlife rescue gear and were on our way! 

‘We got her out of the well – but that was only the first part of the rescue.

‘What was the future of this cub without her mother? We couldn’t just release her there in the broad daylight with no sign of her mother around when she was so small.’

The team decided to take the female cub to the RESQ Wildlife Centre for a day as they tracked down its mother.

After locating the leopard’s mother, the team placed the cub in a wooden crate and a rope – which could be operated from a vehicle parked at a distance – was attached to it.

Eventually, the leopardess walked towards the wooden crate and was reunited with her cub as soon as it was let loose. 

Ms Panchamiya added: ‘While people fear leopards, we were so pleasantly amazed that the locals there understood the consequences of separating a mother and her child and told us that they would help and fully cooperate to ensure the two were reunited.

‘We were all nervous about whether the mother would show up for her cub, but within 20 minutes of us going silent and waiting in the car for her, she showed up and started calling out to her cub. 

‘As soon as we detected her presence in our cameras, we pulled the rope, opened the cage and the cub ran to its mother and they disappeared into the sugarcane fields in a flash. 

‘We were absolutely elated when we saw the mother and cub get together and we hope watching this video brings you the same joy.’