TURA: North Garo Hills police have rescued a pair of endangered clouded leopard cubs that were found on a roadside at Wageasi in the early hours of Thursday.
A police patrol team led by the Wageasi police outpost in-charge was returning from duty when they found the pair of cubs wandering aimlessly.
In the hope that the mother may return and be reunited with the cubs, the police team waited for hours without any success.
As dawn broke and villagers began heading out for cultivation, the police team decided to bring back the cubs to prevent their poaching.
“We are looking into the angle of poaching as the mother did not return for its cubs. The area where the cubs were found is close to the Assam border,” said North Garo Hills district superintendent of police Sacheng Marak.
Later in the afternoon, in the presence of the SP and members of the peace and environment club members, the male and female cub pair was handed over to the Wildlife department of the state.
Wildlife officials informed that the cubs would be released inside Balpakram National Park after they mature.
The clouded leopard cat is Meghalaya’s state animal and one of the most endangered species.
Rampant poaching for its meat and skin has resulted in its population drastically dropping to near extinction levels in the past few years.
Lack of awareness among the rural population on the need to conserve them has allowed poaching to continue unabated.
The widespread cultivation of cash crops such as rubber and cashew nuts by clearing of dense forest cover that was the original habitat of the clouded leopard has pushed it further to the brink of extinction.
To try and contain some of the damage, Wildlife department in the state is planning to hold awareness camps in the rural areas to highlight the importance of conservation of the endangered big cats.
