In what is believed to be a first for the state, forest officials in Maharashtra have discovered a rare white Indian leopard cub in Ratnagiri district, the officials said on Thursday.

Confirming the rare sighting in state, Divisional Forest Officer (DFO), Girija Desai from the Ratnagiri forest department, said, “We have come across a white newborn cub of an Indian leopard in Ratnagiri district. We also found the cub's mother and an another cub nearby.”