Leopard, cub found dead in Maharashtra’s Nagpur district, officials suspect poisoning

Officials said the carcasses were found near a nullah, which led them to suspect that the leopards may have died after drinking the contaminated water

A female leopard and its cub were found dead in the forest of Khapri village near Maharashtra’s Nagpur district on Thursday. Preliminary reports indicate that the big cats could have been poisoned.

A team of veterinarians conducted the post mortem of both big cats on Thursday evening. (Photo for representation only)

Forest department personnel, however, said they were still trying to ascertain the exact cause of death. Officials said the carcasses were found near a nullah, which led them to suspect that the leopards may have died after drinking the contaminated water.

Shree Bhagwan, principal chief conservator of forests (PCCF), Maharashtra , confirmed the deaths. “We are investigating to ascertain the cause of death,” he said. He added that a team of veterinarians conducted the post mortem of both big cats on Thursday evening.

In another incident, animal rescue experts, villagers and forest department officials rescued a drowning leopard trapped in a large open well at a farm near Chowki village in Nagpur on Thursday night.

Recent tiger deaths

On February 23, a tigress at a wildlife rescue centre in Nagpur killed its four cubs – three female and a male – shortly after giving birth.

Last week, a tiger was found dead at Pench National Park in Nagpur.

Another tiger called Yeda Anna, a former dominant male of Tadoba tiger sanctuary in Chandrapur, was also found dead last week. His body was found at Chimur Forest Range area, adjacent to the sanctuary. Maharashtra forest minister Sudhir Mungantiwar ordered a probe into the death of the tiger, who is said to have fathered more than 30 cubs.