The cub is about 25 days old and would find it difficult to survive without its mother. Wildlife experts say the foresters should have let it be - it was probably hidden there by its mother who was out hunting - or at least taken to the tiger rescue centre at Khayerbari, barely 7km from the tea garden. Instead, it was kept in the Madarihat officers' quarters almost as if it were a plaything.
What's worse, the forest minister was seen holding the cub on Saturday while talking to the media. "We were only trying to track its mother so that it can be reunited with her. But it seems she has already abandoned it. The cub will be sent to Khayerbari in a day or two," said Binoy Burman.
Experts ask if reunion was of prime importance, why was it brought to Madarihat, more than 10km from where it was found?
Conservationist Belinda Wright is clear that a wild animal should be left in the wild. "They could have tried to reunite the cub with its mother first and then kept a watch on them. I don't know whether it's legal or illegal, but what happened was certainly not good for the cub," she told TOI, adding that after being in human contact for so long we can hardly expect a mother-cub reunion.
There were reports that Jaldapara assistant wildlife warden Shweta Rai had kept the cub at her quarters in Madarihat, but she denies this. "It was kept in a cage in the Madarihat forest compound. We are trying to send it to Khayerbari rescue centre soon," she told TOI. On being asked why it wasn't sent to the rescue centre right away, Rai said that they were trying to track the mother. "But, we couldn't locate her," she said.
State wildlife advisory board member Animesh Bose said it would send the wrong message to the masses. "Wildlife should always be kept away from human intervention," he said. Considering that leopards regularly sneak into the tea gardens that dot the foothills of Dooars, experts fear human interference in the wild might rise following this incident.
Chief conservator of forests, North Bengal, Vipin Sood said he was not aware of what exactly had happened. "I have not received any reports that the cub was kept in the forest quarters. Since it was rescued four days ago, we will make all arrangements for it to be sent to Khayerbari as soon as possible," he said.
Around five years ago, a forest official had brought a leopard cub to his bungalow after rescuing it from Sukna forest. The cub died, triggering a controversy over human intervention in the wild.
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