The mystery surrounding the discovery of three abandoned leopard cubs in the Tabbowa forest reserve in the Karuwalagaswewa area continues, with reports that the mother may have been killed.
Wildlife officials called off an investigating when they were told that they would not be allowed search a politician’s residence. The cubs were brought in a box to the Wild Life Rangers’ office by the Karuwalagaswewa Pradeshiya Sabha chairman. It was said the cubs were rescued when attempts were made to sell them for Rs. 500,000.
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| Orphaned cubs readily attract foster parents. |
The three-month-old cubs had not been fed for days and were moaning when they were handed over to the WildLife Department veterinary surgeon, Chandana Jayasinghe. No queries were made about the whereabouts of the mother, and her fate remains a mystery
“Under normal circumstances, wildlife officials take legal action against trespassers who enter the reserve. In this case, no one has investigaged how the cubs were found,” said Dayantha Gamini, a villager.
It is feared that the mother may have been killed before the cubs were rescued, he said. “The missing mother is a mystery, as usually cubs are protected by the mother who in this case might have been killed by the poachers or died under other circumstances, such as getting caught in a snare. The subject is a matter of speculation,” another villager said.
Villagers suspect the mother was killed, while others speculate that a politician might have been behind the killing of the mother leopard.
The Pradeshiya Sabha chairman told wildlife officers that the team that had found the cubs had gone into the forest reserve in search of bees’ honey.
WildlLife Conservation Department director Chandrawansa Pathiraja was not available for comment. |
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