Leopard dies in Bhadra Tiger Reserve; wildlife activists demand probe

Hubballi: A one-and-half-year-old female leopard was found dead under mysterious circumstances at Bhadra Tiger Reserve in Chikkamagaluru district.

While the wildlife activists say that the leopard was hit by one of the safari vehicles within the game zone resulting in its death, forest department officials citing the medical reports state that it died from a spine bone injury.

The forest guards of Lakkavalli range found the injured leopard on February 4 evening under a banyan tree.

“The forest staff monitored the condition of the leopard all through the night. And before medical assistance could arrive at the spot in the morning the leopard had died,” said Range Forest Officer Santosh Surimath.

He said there were no external injury marks on the leopard. However, he did not state the probable reason for the internal injury. “We have followed all the standard operating procedures while conducting the postmortem and video recorded it,” he said, rejecting any foul play.

However, wildlife activist Joseph Hoover says that there is an eyewitness to the incident of a safari vehicle hitting the leopard. “In the rush to get a good sighting of the leopard, the driver of the safari vehicle zoomed in, resulting in the vehicle hitting the leopard," he said, quoting a person believed to be in the vehicle on that day.

“All we want to know is the truth. It is the responsibility of the forest department to conduct a fair enquiry and punish the driver if he is found guilty,” he said.

Yashpal Kshirsagar, Chikkamagaluru Chief Conservator of Forests, urged the ‘witness’ to come forward and help the department in solving the case. “We will take strict action against the culprits if the leopard was killed due to an accident,” he said.

Santosh said we are corroborating this information with the visitors’ details we have and so far no one has backed this claim.