Leopard carcass found in Dudhwa buffer zone

Experts ruled out foul play and said that circumstances indicate that the death of the leopard took place due to a fight with another big cat.

The mutilated carcass of a leopard was spotted in a sugarcane field in Sampurnanagar range of the Dudhwa buffer zone on Thursday. Local farmers saw it when they went to the field on Thursday morning.

A leopard carcass was spotted by local farmers in a sugarcane field on Thursday. (HT Photo)

Sampurnanagar range officer Shiv Babu Saroj along with his staff reached the spot and inspected the carcass, which was later sent for a post-mortem examination to ascertain the exact cause of death.

Field director, Dudhwa Tiger Reserve (DTR), Sanjay Kumar Pathak, said, “The nails, jaws and vital organs on the carcass were found intact,” while ruling out foul play, including poaching or poisoning of the big cat.

He said, “The circumstances indicate that the death of the leopard took place due to a fight with another big cat. The cane plants were found crushed where the carcass was recovered while the carcass contained injury marks that may have been caused in another big cat’s attack.”

Pathak said “the autopsy report was awaited which would reveal the exact cause of leopard’s death.”

The leopard is a protected species of schedule one category under the Wildlife Act.

A member of the cat family, leopards tend to live on the fringes of protected forest areas avoiding encounters with tigers, which are in sizable numbers in Dudhwa.

Tigers do not allow leopards to share their territory and any such instance often leads to a pitch fight between tigers and leopards.

- DEO KANT PANDEY