Dr Girikumar Patil (Photo: ANI)
Donbus, a city 1,138kms from Kyiv in Ukraine, is home to Dr Girikumar Patil, a native of Tanuku in Andhra Pradesh’s West Godavari district.
Mr. Patil has been living here for the past 15 years with his pets – three Italian mastiff dogs, a jaguar and a black panther. He and his pets have been living in a bunker since the Russia-Ukraine war started.
The ongoing Russia-Ukraine war that began on February 24th with the former attacking the latter through sea, land and air has destroyed many cities. Donbas is one such city filled with explosions and shelling every now and then.
Parts of Donbus are controlled by separatists’ groups – the Donetsk People Republic and Luhansk People’s Republic. Russia has been supporting the separatists even before the war.
Mr. Patil is one of the hundreds of people who is hoping that the Indian government will help to return home safely. However, so far he has not been able to take whatever chances have been given as he does not want to abandon his pets.
Mr. Patil toldThe New Indian Express on February 6, “I will never abandon my pets to save my life. Of course my family back in India is urging me to return. My pets are my children. I will stay with them and protect them until my last breath.”
He went to Ukraine 15 years ago to study medicine and after completing his MBBS started working in a local hospital as an orthopaedist. He says that his fascination for wild animals started after watching the film Lankeswarudu, a Chiranjeevi movie where the actor has a big cat for company.
“Initially I wanted a Bengal tiger or an Asiatic lion as a pet. In 2020, while visiting a local zoo here, I saw a jaguar, orphaned and ill. With the permission of the authorities concerned, I took him to a veterinary hospital, provided treatment and adopted him,” he said. He named the jaguar Yagwar aka Yasha
Two months ago, he adopted the black panther Sabrina as a mate to Yasha.
He pointed out that that it is becoming increasingly difficult to provide food for his wild pets. “They have been cooperative and silent. But it has now become difficult for me to provide them with sufficient meat, as I cannot go out frequently,” he said.
This post was last modified on March 7, 2022 7:24 pm