Bhopal: Leopard axed to death in buffer zone of Kuno Palpur Sanctuary

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): A leopard was axed to death in the buffer zone area of Kuno Palpur sanctuary, putting put a big question mark on its security arrangements. Sanctuary officials have identified the accused and he is likely to be arrested shortly, they said. The poaching took place on August 7, 2022.

A sanctuary official wishing anonymity said a leopard was poached using wire trap in buffer area of Kuno Palpur sanctuary. The poachers allegedly killed the leopard by attacking it with axe, inflicting several wounds. Later, they chopped off its paws and fled. They made away with moustache of leopard.

The poachers belong to a tribal village situated near buffer zone. A forest officer said that accused might have killed the leopard to take revenge of cattle killing incident. These things are being verified. The sanctuary’s buffer zone has at least 96 leopards. These leopards are in addition to three leopards roaming inside the enclosure made deep inside the sanctuary.

Efforts made to contact PCCF JS Chouhan and Principal Secretary Ashok Barnwal met with no response. DFO Kuno Palpur sanctuary was unavailable for comment.

Poaching of leopard has sent forest officer into tizzy, forcing them to rework on security layers. This is perhaps the first case of poaching in the area.