The Cub

Yesterday, I was taking a stroll in the street. Suddenly, I heard something. At first, I thought it was just a cat making noise, but it was something else. I could not identify it properly as only the tail was visible. When I went closer, I saw its densely arranged spots. I could recall that recently I had watched a documentary on Discovery channel on ‘Big Cat Diary’, where it described a leopard. The description of the program exactly matched with what I had seen in the bushes. Lo and behold! It was a cub of a leopard.

I was very scared and decided not to go nearer. I stopped there for a while and kept on gazing at it and thinking about what to do next. I took out my cell phone from my pocket and started scrolling up and down the contact list. I was perplexed whom to inform about it. Finally, my thumb stopped on Karan’s name. I called him and told him about the cub. He promised me to reach there within fifteen minutes.

Karan is my next-door friend. We grew up together in the same locality, studying in the same school. His father is an officer in the Forest Department. Recently he got transferred to Namdapha National Park in Arunachal Pradesh. Last summer, we went to the beautiful state and had spent quality time in the lap of nature. Oh! How I wish we could go there once again.

When Karan had come, I mustered courage and went closer to the cub. It wouldn’t be wrong to call Karan an audacious boy. He wore his gloves and gently held the cub. When he showed the face of the cub to me, I was stunned to see blood spots on its muzzle. He told me, “This is horrible, it seems that it has been hit by a vehicle, we must do something immediately, else it may succumb to the injuries”. I took out his phone from his pocket and called his father and informed him about the injured cub. He was taken aback to know about the plight of the cub. Uncle told me, “I am calling the rescue team right away; they will be there within half an hour”.

With the help of a passer-by, we somehow reached a nearby health center. There, they managed to clean the wound and bandaged its feet. Within half an hour I received a call. The man on the other side said, “I am Mr. Nagpal from the rescue team, may I know your location?”

 I was glad to have received the call. For both of us, it was a moment of celebration. Well, I was overwhelmed to receive aid on time. The rescue team, after certain formalities, took the cub and thanked both of us. They praised us and clicked some pictures with us. The next day, I was surprised to see my and Karan’s photograph in a local newspaper, with the headline, “Two Brave hearts Saved a Leopard Cub”, This was a treat to my eyes. My timely help and presence of mind helped the cub survive and also it made both local celebrities. We both are delighted to save an innocent life.