I was born near the historic fort Shivneri and my parents, grand parents, great grand parents, great great grand parents all had been living in that area for ages. My mother was very fond of me and my brothers, and taught us all that was necessary for surviving in this world. Among other things, she taught us how to hunt, what to hunt and most importantly how to avoid you humans. Living close to you for thousands of years, we very well know that avoiding confrontation is the key to successful survival. But sadly none of my brothers survived: a hyena killed one and the other died due to illness. I was the only survivor of the litter.
When my mother was sure that I have learnt the lessons well, she promptly asked me to leave and find myself a new home. I was very keen to prove myself and thus set out eagerly. I walked for sometime and realized that I was close to a village. I immediately decided that there was no point in going any further as it was not dark yet and there were some humans working in a field. So I hid in a nearby bush and was waiting for dark so that I could move on. Suddenly I heard somebody approach and I froze. Two humans were coming towards the bush where I was hiding. I held my breath and didn't move at all. Luckily they did not see me and continued walking. This was my first encounter with humans and I remembered the lessons my mother had taught me. After waiting for some time, I decided to move on. I went on cautiously in the opposite direction avoiding the village. Very soon I found an area that looked ideal for settling down. This area was away from the village with plenty of shrubs and bushes, some trees and a small hill. Food would be easy to find here. But the satisfaction did not last long. My mother had taught me to read messages left by others of our kind and there was such a message. The message said ‘ Beware! You are entering my territory and I will not tolerate this trespassing. Get Out!' I retreated promptly. There was no point in contesting this warning and I moved on. Throughout the night, this was repeated: all the suitable places were already taken by somebody. I realized that finding a territory of my own was not easy. Either I will have to take over somebody's territory by virtue of strength or go further in search of unoccupied territory. But by this time I was tired and very hungry. Luckily enough I stumbled upon a hare and had a hearty meal. I found a place to rest, which was close to a village but not occupied by anybody. This was going to be my temporary home.
In a few days time, I was confident enough to sneak close to the village and the farms at night and find food and water. Occasionally those whose territories were nearby warned me, but I too was growing in strength and confidence and managed to stay there. Also by then I realized that if I survive for another couple of months, I would be able to grab the neighboring territory and then life would be much easier!
But fate had planned things differently! One evening as I was stalking a dog and was about to pounce on the fellow, a small boy saw me and started shouting. I immediately retreated in a nearby sugarcane field, but by then a mob had gathered and surrounded the field. I was very afraid, but managed to hide until dark. I then sneaked out of the field without any of the humans realizing that I had slipped away. They were still searching for me in the field the next morning. As a precautionary measure, I did not venture close to that village for the next few days. I hunted in the neighbor's territory and managed to evade him as well. But after a few days, I decided to go back to my area and see if everything was back to normal. As I approached the village, I saw some new structure below a tree. I took cover in a bush nearby and scrutinized this structure. To my surprise there was a goat tied inside and the door was open! I was about to go and grab the meal, when a warning bell rang in my head. I am not sure why, but I avoided this structure and ventured in the other direction. The same story was repeated after I walked some distance. This time a dog was tied inside and was continuously whining. I decided to wait till it was complete dark.
After a long time, I finally managed to go close to that structure. There were many human smells around, but I was too hungry to pay any heed to the warning bells. For a long time I stood near the opening. The dog too was suddenly silent. As you say in your language, curiosity killed the cat. I entered, and as I grabbed the dog there was a loud noise. Looking back I realized that I was trapped inside. I tried very hard to get out of that structure but to no avail. I tried banging on the bars, biting the bars and even tried to dig a hole. This went on all through the night and the result was that I was badly injured and exhausted. Next morning when finally the humans came and took me away, I could hardly react. Though I tried pleading my case, it had no effect on the humans. Some were throwing stones at me, some were poking me with sticks, a few were flashing light at me and as a result nobody listened to me. I had never attacked any human in my life and had tried really hard to avoid confrontation with humans. Still I was trapped and being taken a prisoner.
I was kept in the trap cage for the next few weeks and then shifted to this rescue center. And guess what, here I met my mother! I learnt from her that she was trapped in a foothold trap put by a hunter. Though she was rescued, the foot was damaged beyond repair and thus she was transferred to this rescue center.
There are many others of our kind here. We get food regularly and do not have to hunt. But none of us want to stay here. Out there is where we belong. Survival outside is difficult, we have to find food, avoid humans, and defend our territories. But that is how we prefer to live, and die.