Tiger cub rescued from Bhandara well, reunited with mother

Nagpur: Deep inside the dense forests of the North Umred Range, around 50km from Nagpur, a tiger cub was reunited with its mother at around 5am on Friday, bringing big relief to the forest officials. After rescuing the cub in the wee hours of Thursday, the foresters were anxiously waiting for the ‘reunion moment' for almost a day.The cub, around one year old, had accidentally fallen into a well near Lohara village on Wednesday evening. Villagers noticed the trapped animal and alerted the forest department, following which rescue teams from the Nagpur forest division rushed to the spot and began the rescue operation that stretched overnight.To keep the frightened afloat and calm, rescuers first lowered a wooden cot into the well to provide temporary support. Later, a coordinated rescue operation was launched using specialised equipment, ropes, and a safety cage by the Primary Response Team (PRT) and staff of the Transit Treatment Centre (TTC), Seminary Hills in Nagpur.After hours of effort, the cub was pulled out safely without any injuries. It was then shifted to the TTC for medical examination and observation. Officials said the cub was found healthy and fit to be released back into the wild.But the biggest challenge remained, reuniting the cub with its mother. According to forest officials, the cub was taken back to the same forest area from where it was rescued, as tigresses are known to identify their cubs through scent. The reunion operation began around 7pm on Friday and turned into a tense waiting game for the forest staff.For nearly 10 hours, officials silently monitored the area in darkness, hoping the tigress would return. The cub was kept in a cage while teams watched for movement inside the forest. At one point, the tigress finally emerged cautiously from the wilderness. Officials carefully observed her behaviour to confirm she was indeed the cub's mother.Moments later, the cage door was opened. The cub dashed straight towards the tigress before disappearing into the dense forest. The rescue and reunion operation was carried out under the guidance of Vinita Vyas, deputy conservator of forests, along with assistant conservator Manoj Dhanvijay, range forest officer PD Babhale, TTC rescue staff, forest guards, and the Umred Police team.