The Forest Department has begun an inquiry into the reasons and circumstances that led to the death of a one-year-old Leopard in Kosigi Mandal of the district on Tuesday, it was laid to rest on Wednesday after due procedure.
Kurnool District Forest Officer P. Siva Sankara Reddy told The Hindu that the leopard was found dead by the villagers in a place between Duddi and Vandagal villages in Kosigi Mandal and it had no physical injuries on its body, which was raising doubts over its death.
The Indian Leopard population stands at 12,172 to 13,535 individuals. They inhabit India’s forest landscapes and in unreserved revenue wastelands. The Indian Leopard is listed as ‘Vulnerable’ on the IUCN Red List.
The number of leopards have been increasing for the past couple of years on the Karnataka-Andhra Pradesh border, and recently another leopard was killed in a vehicle-hit in Shettur Mandal of Anantapur district four days ago on the Karnataka border. This leopard, however, was not found anywhere near a road nor did it bear any injury marks during the post-mortem performed by the Veterinary Assistant Director Narayanaswamy and his team.
After taking permission from the National Tiger Conservation Authority, the postmortem was performed and the leopard was put to rest as per guidelines. The department will probe in all possible angles of poaching through poisoning or death due to conflict with another animal, etc.
Further inquiry will depend on the postmortem report to be given by the veterinary officer.
