A male leopard was found dead near the Indo-Nepal border at the Katarniaghat Forest Sanctuary in Bahraich district. An official of the forest department gave this information on Sunday.
The official said that it is feared that the leopard may have died due to conflict with a tiger or a big animal. Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) B. Shivshankar told reporters that the forest workers were on patrol in the Indo-Nepal border forest on Saturday when the leopard was found dead in Kaurila Beat of Katarnia range of Katarniaghat Forest Sanctuary.
The officials reached the spot and took the dead leopard and brought him to the range office after an initial investigation. The DFO said that three veterinarians conducted a post -mortem of the deceased leopard under the standard operation process of the National Tiger Protection Authority and later cremated.
He informed that the viscera of the dead leopard is being preserved and sent to IVRI Bareilly for detailed investigation. He said that the deceased leopard was about eight years old.
The post -mortem report revealed death due to the tube puncture in the breath. Shivshankar said that on the basis of inspection and initial post -mortem report of the incident, it is being speculated that leopards have died due to conflict with a tiger or big animal. No leopard part was missing.
Earlier on Monday, DFO B.K. Shivshankar told ‘PTI-Bhasha’ that “Katarniaghat One Division is spread over an area of about 550 square kilometers. A tiger in the forest considers the area of about 25 square kilometers as its influence and keeps the leopards away from there.
Since the beginning of the year 2025, four leopards, one tiger and one elephant have been found dead in different areas of Katarniaghat Forest Division. The fifth incident of leopard’s death has come to light on Saturday.
Earlier in 2024, four leopards and a tiger were found dead here. According to estimates, at present there are about 100 leopards and 70-80 tigers in the forests of Katarniaghat. About 150 leopards can also be present in the rural areas adjacent to it outside the forest.
