Rescued leopard cub dies in captivity at National Park  Simit Bhagat | TNN  Mumbai: A leopard cub being raised in the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) at Borivli recently perished in forest officials custody.The female cub was brought to the park in August 2009 from Thanes Ghodbunder area after it was deserted by its biological mother. A senior official in SGNP,upset with the death,said: The leopard was nearly two months old when it was brought to the park.It died last week,although utmost care was taken to ensure its health.  Park officials say the cub had an injury on her back and maggots on her body when it was brought to SGNP.But,it was treated and had recovered,and was growing well. Officials,though,pointed out that during the early stage of life,cubs are prone to various infections and have to be handled with care.The cub had hardly received any milk from their mother.Since it did not grow in the natural conditions in the wild,it lacked the necessary resistance power, said Dr P N Munde,director of SGNP. Forest officials further said that they had followed strict safety measures when the leopard cub was brought to the park.The cub was earlier kept in the warmth of a special room at the animal hospital and once it recovered,it was shifted to the leopard enclosure. It was kept on a diet of tender meat.But due to low resistance power,it would often get infected and,therefore,medication became even more difficult.Since its immune system was weak,it was difficult to raise the cub in captivity, said the forest official. In the wild,it is the mother who teaches its cubs to hunt and kill. But,since the abandoned cub lacked the training in hunting,it was inevitable to keep the leopard in captivity for the rest of his life. Caged Tragedies  Instances of death in captivity  Last week,a Himalayan Black Bear died in the Byculla Zoo due to organ failure In July 2007,three newborn jungle cat cubs died in SGNP officials due to infection In July 2006,another leopard cub in the custody of SGNP officials died due to dysentery