Wildlife dept teams to patrol Aravallis, make welfare check on animals

The wildlife department will start patrolling the Aravallis from Friday to check on ailing animals in the forests after they found a two-and-a-half year-old female leopard dead in Sohna on Wednesday

The wildlife department will start patrolling the Aravallis from Friday to check on ailing animals in the forests after they found a two-and-a-half year-old female leopard dead in Sohna on Wednesday.

A female leopard was found dead in the Aravalli area near Sohna village, in Gurugram on November 17. (Parveen Kumar/HT Photo)

Officials said the autopsy of the carcass suggested that the big cat had succumbed to ovarian tumour.

The wildlife department officials said the finding gives cause for concern and they have decided to start patrolling the forest areas to ensure that no wildlife is ailing from any disease.If they come across any animal in need of attention, the animal will be rescued and sent for treatment.

The locals of Khobri village in Sohna, about 32km from Gurugram, spotted the leopard lying unconscious in the periphery of the village and informed wildlife officials around 1.30pm Wednesday. A team of four wildlife officials reached the spot and took the leopard to a veterinary hospital, where the doctor declared it dead.

Rajesh Chahal, a wildlife inspector posted in Gurugram, said this is the first time that they have found a leopard dead due to illness in the area. “A three kilo tumour was removed from the ovary of the leopard. It seems that it had not eaten anything for the past few days. The leopard had lost weight and was unable to move, as per the autopsy report,” he said.

Chahal said they have formed a team on Thursday, comprising a veterinary doctor, to check on animals in the Aravallis. “The veterinary doctor can identify if any animal has any illness and take a call on its treatment. We suspect that more animals could be ill and so we plan to keep a check on their movement. Our focus is to rescue ailing animals from Aravallis and this is a first of its kind initiative,” he said.

The wildlife officials also said the same team will keep a check on movements of leopards in areas adjoining Aravallis as they have received several calls about leopard sightings from residents in those parts. “We have divided the timings as the same team will patrol the forests and also camp in village areas to stop man-animal conflicts,” said Chahal.

Officials said they have identified areas with a high population of leopards and will start patrolling in Manesar, Sohna and Nuh area. As per the 2017 Census, there are 31 leopards in the Aravallis and it is estimated that their numbers have to about 60. The sighting of leopards have also increased in the area over the past three months,” Chahal said.

Ram Avtar, a cattle grazer from Bandhwari village, said he had informed wildlife officials on Tuesday about a leopard he spotted near the landfill. “I have spotted the animal three times in the past three evenings. There is one leopard that is seen again and again in the area. We are afraid of the animal attacking us and have requested the officials to rescue it,” he said.

The wildlife officials said several villagers have raised concerns over the sighting of leopards and hyenas in human habitats. The department said they had received at least five calls from Rojka Gujjar, near the Bandhwari on Gurgaon-Faridabad Road and in Mandawar forest areas in the past one week.