AP doc refuses to abandon 'pet' jaguar, panther; stays behind in Ukraine

Andhra Pradesh: As the situation in Ukraine escalates, many Indians are evacuating the country, some with their pets. However, for Kumar Patil, a Telugu doctor from Andhra Pradesh who has two pets, the situation is more difficult because his pets are not cats or dogs but a jaguar and a blank panther.

While the whole city was evacuating, Dr. Kumar, popularly known as 'Jaguar Kumar', decided to live in the bunker in his house in Donbas, refusing to leave the country and abandoning his pets Yagwar (jaguar) and Sabrina (black panther). He is probably the only Indian left in the area.

A resident of Tanuku in West Godavari district, Dr. Kumar went to Ukraine to pursue his MBBS and settled now as a doctor in Ukraine. He is also a Telugu YouTube vlogger with a name 'Jaguar Kumar Telugu'. Through his videos, he has been regularly posting about his situation along with his big cats in Ukraine.

His love for big cats made Jaguar Kumar get one of the rare breeds of big cats, and also an endangered species, jaguar as a pet. "I have the license to own a jaguar. During this tense situation, everyone told me to leave the big cats and return to India. But they are my children. If I let them go, they will die. And that cannot happen till my last breath," said Dr. Kumar in a video.

Arranging food for his big cats, Jaguar Kumar has been living in the bunker to avoid the explosions outside. When there was a ceasefire, he went out to get meat for his pets, sufficient for the next four days.

Through his recent YouTube video, he has asked the Andhra Pradesh government to find a way to bring him back to India along with his big cats and to help build a safari in his native place.