GUNTUR: Life has become tough for an orthopaedic from Andhra Pradesh, who is staying put in Ukraine’s Donbas region since he cannot take his two pet big cats with him.
Dr Giri Kumar Patil has been living in the basement of his six-room, two-storey house with his pets, a jaguar, a black panther, and three Italian mastiffs, in Severodonesk ever since the Russian artillery started pounding the city in south-eastern Ukraine.
The Russian invasion has rendered him jobless, and the Ukrainian currency, the hryvnia, is not being accepted for the past few days, Dr Patil said.
“All shops, ATMs, are closed and it has become exceedingly difficult to survive. Vendors are accepting only dollars or gold. I sold whatever gold I had to buy sufficient meat for my pets,” he said in a YouTube live session.
Adding to his woes, his revenue from his popular YouTube videos, too, dried up after the video sharing platform stopped paying those in the ‘Luhansk People’s Republic.’
Dr Patil’s well-wishers and YouTube subscribers have now launched a crowdfunding initiative to raise USD 50,000 to help him travel to some other country with his pets.
The orthopaedic, who goes by the sobriquet Jaguar Kumar Telugu, is a popular YouTuber, with more than 84,000 subscribers.
AP doc holed up in Donbas with big cats faces financial crisis
“It will cost me around USD 80,000-90,000 to migrate to another country along with my pets. It’s impossible for me to arrange such a huge amount. So, I have to shift to a safer city in Ukraine,” the 40-year-old doctor from West Godavari’s Tanuku added.
Meanwhile, in a tweet addressed to Dr Patil, cine actor Chiranjeevi appreciated the doctor’s concern for his pets. “I am delighted and touched to learn that your love for jaguars and panthers was inspired by me. It is truly heartening that you are not willing to leave them behind during this unfortunate wartime and are choosing to stay back in Ukraine for the sake of your pet panther and jaguar. Your compassion and love for these wonderful creatures is highly admirable. I pray for your safety during this challenging period and wish that the war ends soon and normalcy is restored at the earliest. Meanwhile, please stay safe and look after your pets. God Bless!” the mega star tweeted on March 10.
Dr Patil earlier said he became fascinated with wild animals after watching Chiranjeevi’s film, “Lankeswarudu.” in which the hero has a big cat for company.
From Tanuku to Donbas via Luhansk
Patil went to Ukraine in 2007 as a student. He was earlier in Luhansk. His house and a restaurant he had floated were destroyed in the war between rebels and Ukrainian forces. He reached Donbas 6 years ago