Leopard carcass found near Bandhwari landfill site

Wildlife officials said the fully-grown leopard, possibly aged between 12 to 14 years, was found dead in the forest area connecting Bandhwari and Behrampur village. Officials ruled out the possibility of poaching as its body parts were found intact

An adult leopard was found dead in the forest area near Bandhwari, some three kilometres from the landfill site on Friday morning, wildlife officials said. A villager had spotted the decomposed body of the wild animal and alerted the police and wildlife department, officials added.

Leopard carcass found near Bandhwari landfill site

Wildlife officials said the fully-grown leopard, possibly aged between 12 to 14 years, was found dead in the forest area connecting Bandhwari and Behrampur village. Officials ruled out the possibility of poaching as its body parts were found intact.

Wildlife inspector Rajesh Chahal said they received a call around 10am and a team reached the spot within 20 minutes. “A villager discovered the carcass in a decomposed state while he was grazing cattle. We reached the spot immediately and carried out the inquest formalities. The carcass was almost a month old”, he said.

“The veterinary doctors failed to ascertain the cause of its death as it was found in a highly decomposed state. Even its gender could not be identified. It seems to be a natural death,” Chahal added.

Wildlife officials said their teams are regularly patrolling the forest areas to ensure that no wild animal is ailing from any disease. They added that if they come across animals in need of attention, they make arrangements for their treatment.

On November 16 last year, a two-year-old female leopard was found dead in Sohna and its autopsy suggested that it died due to an ovarian tumour.