A call from the surprised Ban Pho Riang resident who found the waif fetched officials from Khao Phanom Bencha National Park.

They turned the cat over to the Phang Nga wildlife nursery to recover. Park chief Neramit Songsaeng said it would eventually be returned to the wild.

Neramit pointed out that leopards are protected by law and are listed in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora among the most endangered animals, and as “critically endangered” by the International Union for Conversation of Nature and Natural Resources.