Indian doctor refuses to leave pet panther and jaguar behind in Ukraine: 'Would rather die'
Girikumar Patil, a doctor, stranded in Ukraine says he would rather die than leave his exotic pets behind in the hands of the invading Russians. Despite an uncertain fate and his family's appeals for him to return to India, amid the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, Patil refuses to leave his huge cats behind.
Patil, 42, travelled to Ukraine to study medicine in 2007 and now lives in Severodonetsk, a tiny town in Donbas' eastern part. He used to reside in Luhansk, but opted to relocate after both his home and restaurant were damaged in 2014 during fighting between Ukrainian army and Russian-backed rebels.
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Patil bought the two large cats from Kyiv Zoo for $35,000 in 2020 after he moved to Severodonetsk and practised medicine at a local hospital. The zoo allows private purchases of animals as long as the owner has the capacity to keep them. "My big cats have been spending nights in the basement with me. There has been a lot of bombing happening around us. The cats are scared. They are eating less. I can’t leave them. How can I leave my soul here," he told the Daily Telegraph.
Despite the onslaught, the 42-year-old still leaves the house, but only to go grocery shopping for his two pets. Typically, this consists of several pounds of sheep, turkey, and chicken, the cost of which has doubled since the Russian invasion. "I called the [Indian] embassy but didn't get a proper response. My place is surrounded by the Russians but I'm trying my best. I treat them [pets] as my kids," Patil said, according to news agency ANI.
According to the BBC, Patil comes from Tanuku in Andhra Pradesh's West Godavari district and studied medicine in the eastern European country in 2007. He has been a practising orthopaedic doctor since 2014, and he now works in a government hospital in Severodonetsk that was closed when the war broke out. He also claims to have a private practice.
Patil, the son of a bank manager and a school teacher, described himself as a "animal lover" who maintained dogs, cats, and birds at home. He purchased the creatures from the Kyiv zoo approximately 20 months ago, and the jaguar is a 20-month-old male, while the panther is a six-month-old female. He also has a YouTube channel called 'Jaguar Kumar Telugu,' documenting his life in the small town of Severodonetsk in eastern Ukraine.
Patil dabbled in acting after high school and college, playing minor roles in Telugu soap operas. He said he has appeared as a "foreign" character in half a dozen local films and shows in Ukraine. He said the Russian border was only 80 kilometres away, but getting there was difficult due to Russian soldiers in the area. His neighbourhood has had sporadic power outages and internet outages, but he is still able to upload video messages on social media on a regular basis. "I am the only Indian out here, and at night I am alone in the neighbourhood. Most of my neighbours have moved to nearby villages. I am going to hold out," he said to BBC.