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Abandoned leopard cubs find home in Lucknow zoo

     Lucknow: Two leopard cubs abandoned by their mother have found a new home in a zoo in Lucknow. The ten-day old cubs were rescued by forest officials from the Lakhempur area after being spotted by a guard and brought to the zoo on Thursday. Runa Singh, Director, Lucknow zoo said, "Deputy Director P. P. Singh from the Tiger Reserve had brought them. Both are female leopards. We have named them Suheli and Sharda." The cubs are being bottle fed goat's milk and zoo authorities are taking every care to nurture the young cats back to health. "We will have to keep them under observation for one and half months to two month and once they are strong enough we will decide what to do with them," she added. Singh, however, is concerned as the rescued cubs could not be restored to the wild till they have grown enough to protect themselves. With the increasing demand for animal hides in the international market, the leopard and tiger population of India is under constant threat from poachers. According to an estimate made several years back there were 10,000 leopards in the country.
-January 18,  2008