In a remarkable tale of survival against the odds, ‘Leo’ the leopard cub has been rescued from certain death, thanks to the quick response of local villagers, the forest department, and wildlife experts.

Leo was discovered after local residents in Gorkha, Nepal, heard cries coming from the nearby forest.

Forest officers attending the scene discovered a grim situation—the cub’s mother and sibling had already died, and Leo was weak from starvation. Thankfully the rescue team got there just in time, and he was captured and transported back to the local forest office.

What had happened to Leo’s mother and brother? And why was he all alone?

A post-mortem examination conducted by WVI partner Dr Jess Bodgener revealed that the mother leopard had been fatally injured in a fight with another leopard, probably a male.

“It’s likely she died defending her cubs” Jess explained. “Like other big cats, leopards practice infanticide. This is where the male will try to kill cubs that are not his; this brings the female back into heat so he can mate with her. The females obviously don’t like this and will do their best to defend their cubs.

Thankfully Jess was on hand to provide some vital first aid to Leo, in the form of sub-cutaneous fluids and syringe feeding. Over the next 48 hours the cub slowly gained strength and started wanting to explore.

Once Leo was stronger and gaining weight he was transferred to Pachbhaiya Wildlife Rescue Centre, in Kaski, for continued care.

But the team didn’t hold out much hope. He was only three weeks old and had already been through so much. The post-mortem of his brother had also revealed a congenital abnormality in his chest, so his survival seemed far from certain.

Under the watchful eye of rescue centre veterinarian Dr Kishor Acharya, Leo was closely monitored and received round the clock care, including bottle feeding and manual stimulation to help him urinate and defecate—functions his mother would normally perform in the wild.

 Still, it was touch and go and it wasn’t until he started to lap and take in solid food that his weight gain really picked up.

 “The fact that Leo survived is a testament to the hard work and dedication of the rescue centre staff,” said Dr Acharya. “Hand-rearing orphan cubs is incredibly challenging, and a large number simply don’t make it.”

Indeed, statistics from similar efforts in Assam reveal a stark truth: over 50% of hand-reared leopard cubs do not survive.

But Leo has defied the odds. After a slow start, he has steadily gained strength and is continuing to get bigger and stronger every day.

Once the team were happy with his progress, it was time to x-ray his chest. The post-mortem of his sibling had found a congenital diaphragmatic hernia. This happens when the membrane that separates your abdominal cavity from your chest doesn’t form properly and can result inabdominal organs like your stomach moving into your chest and pressing on your lungs.

The team were concerned Leo might be affected too… and if he was, he would need surgery to correct it.

Thankfully his diaphragm appears normal, and he has been given a clean bill of health.

To accommodate his ever expanding size, conservationist Jack Kinross of WildTiger worked with the Jane Goodall Institute and staff at the rescue centre to adapt an existing enclosure that could allow staff to begin the process of assessing whether Leo could one day be rehabilitated and released into the wild.

“The successful rescue and recovery of Leo is an example of what can be achieved when we all work together for conservation,” said Komal Raj Kafle, DFO of Kaski, who also oversees the rescue centre. “From local communities and forest officers to vets and international partners—everyone played a role.”

For now, Leo remains under close care at Pokhara Zoological Park, where his remarkable survival continues to inspire hope among conservationists across Nepal.

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