This is a video worth watching if you are interested in the big cats and how they live in the human world and interact with humans in India. It shows their intricate and successful rescue from a 50-foot well.
For me, the interesting aspect of this cat rescue operation is that these two cats were fighting hammer and tong and inflicting injuries upon each other before they fell into the well. In fact it is the reason why they fell into it. Once they were trapped in the water they became passive and quiet towards each other, more concerned about personal survival.
They were rescued in a noisy and excitable but highly effective way. A large container with a trap door was lowered down and the big cats climbed into it. The second one was reluctant to clamber in, which is quite natural, but he eventually realised that it was his only means of escape.
The incident happened near a village in Ottur, Maharashtra, India. The villagers woke up to the distressed roars of the leopards. They alerted the forestry Department and animal rescue workers from the Wildlife SOS organisation.
By the time they got to the well both leopards were exhausted from the struggle to stay afloat and had found a ledge as you can see in the video, where they were in close proximity to each other. They were no longer fighting each other but fighting for survival.
Wildlife SOS said that the leopards were in shock because of their ordeal. Leopards falling down wells is not uncommon in India (see associated articles below). I’ve seen a number of videos and articles on this subject. In fact, the preparedness of Wildlife SOS with their large trap indicates how common this sort of rescue is in India.
Comment
As you can see from the video there is no protective wall or fencing around the well. A well of this size without a protective wall would be regarded as a major health and safety risk in the West to humans and animals. Perhaps the local government should legislate for this? It should be mandatory to have fencing, don’t you think? Perhaps it is a lack of enforcement of existing regulations.
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ASSOCIATED ARTICLES:
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Thank gawd they were saved,I hate some indians from that country after a beautiful black female leopard had been trapped in a cage,they poured fuel on her and set her on fire and since then I have hated them because black leopards are my favorite wildlife animal with the fox coming in second,photo below is of the leopard set on fire.
So glad they were saved. They really should close these wells or proved a more secure covering to avoid accidents like this in the future. At least they were not murdered like most humans seem to do to these majestic beings.