3 leopard cubs are dead. Letters were written for their release, but ignored

Three leopard cubs died at the Transit Treatment Centre in Seminary Hills, Nagpur, because forest officials failed to act on repeated release requests. The veterinary officer of the Transit Treatment Centre stated that she wrote three letters between August 3 and 13 Oct 2026, to forest officials, recommending the immediate release of the mother leopard and her cubs into a suitable core forest habitat. The mother leopard, rescued in Jan 2026, gave birth to the three healthy cubs in Mar 2026. The officer certified them fit for release after medical checks, warning authorities that growing cubs faced hazards from wide gaps in the cage bars. Two cubs died after getting trapped in the cage bars, and the third was found dead below its mother cage on October 31. Transit Treatment Centre officials claimed that facility CCTV cameras were turned off, causing difficulties in tracking animal health. Range Forest Officer Prakash Bhadange stated, “The decision to release rescued animals is supposed to be taken by a forest department-constituted committee.”