6-month-old tiger cub rescued from well, reunited with mom in Chandrapur

CHANDRAPUR: In a joint operation, the rapid response units of Tadoba and Chandrapur division rescued a six-month-old tiger cub trapped in a large farm well near Dabgaon village under Chichpalli range on Wednesday afternoon.
For the first time in Chandrapur, rescue teams used a catch pole which helped to safely lift the cub out of the well.
The matter came to light after a farmer heard hooting of monkeys close to the farm well.He went to check the place and found the cub perched on an outcrop deep into the well.
The farmer immediately called the forest officers. “The cub might have fallen into the well while its mother was moving around the place during the early hours. The well though has a parapet wall, it is at the surface level on two sides from where the cub might have fallen,” said RFO, Chichpalli, Vaibhav Rajurkar.
By the time foresters reached the spot, a large crowd had gathered at the spot. Rajurkar said that first a net was lowered into the well to ensure cub remains safe even if it falls down during the operation. “Later, shooter Ajay Marathe used the catch pole to noose the cub and it was immediately lifted up,” he said.
CCF NR Pravin said that a catch pole has a very soft rope having a noose at one end and mechanism to tighten it at other end. “Marathe lowered the pole and put the noose around cub’s neck,” said Pravin and claimed that the cub being young and light was easy to rescue with the help of a catch pole.
Veterinary doctor (wildlife), Dr Ravikant Khobragade and transit treatment centre (TTC) in-charge Dr Kundan Podchelwar were present to take care of any emergency.
Forest officials had to summon cops from Chiroli police station to deal with the mob.
The rescued cub was immediately shifted to TTC at Chandrapur, where in-charge veterinary doctor Dr Kunadan Podchelwar found it fit for release back in the jungle.
Pravin claimed that the mother tigress belongs to adjacent FDCM range.
The cub was reunited with its mother in an operation carried out under Podchelwar. The rescued cub was taken to a spot near the well in a cage and released when the tigress came there with two more cubs.