A leopard died hours it was rescued by forest officials in Uttarakhand’s Kumaon division on Thursday. The leopard was trapped in a fencing wire.
This was the second such incident in Kumaon within a week and fourth leopard death in last two weeks in the state.
“On getting information from locals, we rushed to the spot and found that a one-year-old leopard was trapped in farm wire near Kunjgadi nullah in the Kapkot area of Bageshwar district. Our team tranquilised it, and brought it to range office after rescue operation but veterinarian declared it brought dead,” said Manish Kumar, range officer, Kapkot in Bageshwar.
People of the area alerted Kapot municipality chairman Govind Singh Bisht after seeing the trapped leopard near Kunjgadi nullah. Bisht then informed forest officers about the trapped animal. By the time they reached the spot, the leopard was already unconscious due to severe injuries, an official said.
It was brought to the range office where the veterinary doctor declared it brought dead. Its body was burnt by forest officials after post-mortem, said Kumar.
This the second case that a leopard was trapped in farm fencing wire. In a similar incident, a leopard was found trapped in Bajaili village of Someshwar in Almora on May 14. Forest officials rescued it and brought it to the rescue centre in Almora. After its treatment, the leopard was released in a natural habitat.
On Tuesday, carcass of a leopard was found near the roadside in Almora district’s Chaukhutiya area. On May 12, two leopards were found dead in Uttarakhand within 24 hours. A carcass of a five-year leopard was found in Jyolikot area of Nainital stuck in a trap wire. In another incident, a ten-year-old leopard was found dead in Pithoragarh district.
