Chemical found in samples of dead feline

Analysis of the samples from the caracass of a leopard, found dead atop a tree near S Kallahalli village in Mysore taluk on September 12, has revealed that the feline died of unnatural causes.

Samples of the carcass had been sent to veterinary laboratories in Mysore and Bangalore, which found the presence of Zinc Phosphide in the stomach and liver of the animal. Zinc phosphide is used as a rodenticide to kill rats, mice and other small pests.

Deputy Conservator of Forests, V Karikalan said that the samples of the animal will be sent to Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), Hyderabad, to ascertain whether the leopard was subjected to direct poisoning or consumed the poison by accident.

“The leopard might have been deliberately poisoned by the villagers or it might have consumed a dead rat or other animal, which was poisoned. The CCMB report will shed light on whether the leopard’s death was due to direct or indirect poisoning,” he said.