Hardly after 20 days of death of tigress and a cub, carcass of leopard was found in Birsinghpur forest area in Umaria district. Tigress T-42 tigress had died on October 17 in Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve (BTR) under suspicious condition.
Leopard’s carcass, which seems to be three to four days old, was found in Birsinghpur beat of Pali forest range. According to the post mortem report, the cause of death is electrocution, a forest officer said. However, there is no electricity line within three kilometres of the radius of the place and so the exact cause of the death will be probed, he added. Prima facie, the forest department believes that farmers generally flow current in electric wire around their agriculture field for protection from wild boars. This leopard might have come in contact with electric wire and got electrocuted. The forest team interrogated local villagers but so far nothing concrete has come out in connection with the big cat’s death.
PCCF Alok Kumar said, T-42 tigress with cub died in Bandhavgarh tiger reserve, while the leopard carcass was found in a forest area, not a part of the reserve.
The officer confirmed that the leopard died of electrocution. “Prima facie it seems that the leopard got electrocuted elsewhere and later the body was shifted to the forest area. We have started an investigation into the matter. Generally farmers flow current for protection of crops from other wild boars and other animals. Leopard might have come in contact with the electric wire and got electrocuted. Farmers later had dumped the body to the forest area,” Kumar said.
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