Pilibhit (UP), Apr 29 (PTI) The carcass of a female leopard was found floating in a canal near a village here on Wednesday morning, a forest department official said.
Officials said no signs of severe injury has been found on the carcass in the preliminary autopsy, and further examination is underway to ascertain the cause of death. After being alerted by local villagers about the leopard carcass on Wednesday morning, a team from the social forestry division, accompanied by a full contingent of personnel, rushed to the spot.
With assistance of villagers, forest department personnel retrieved the leopard’s carcass from the canal and took it into custody.
Divisional Forest Officer (DFO), Social Forestry, Bharat Kumar confirmed that a leopard carcass was recovered from the Sarai Sundarpur canal near Narayan Ther village.
The carcass is that of a female leopard, estimated to be 18 months old, he said, adding that post-mortem examination is underway and the cause of death will be clear only after the report is received.
DFO Kumar said preliminary investigations by forest department officials revealed no obvious external injury marks that could have caused the death. A thorough examination is currently underway, he said.
Dr Daksh Gangwar, a veterinarian with the Pilibhit Tiger Reserve, told PTI that he has already conducted preliminary autopsy of the leopard carcass. He said no signs of any severe injuries capable of causing death were found on the body.
To accurately determine the cause of death, samples collected during post-mortem have been sent to the Indian Veterinary Research Institute in Izzatnagar, Bareilly, and the precise circumstances surrounding the big cat’s death will emerge once the test reports arrive, Dr Gangwar added. PTI COR NAV ARB ARB
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