A three-year-old male leopard was shot dead and its limbs were chopped off near Murkawad range in Haliyal division of Uttara Kannada district.
The incident is said to have taken place three to four days ago and came to light on Wednesday. The carcass was dumped in a canal next to a sugarcane field. Wildlife activists suspect it to be a poaching incident. Forest officials have not ruled it out.
DCF Balachandra said they suspect the role of a sharpshooter hired by farmers of the region. "Farmers are harvesting sugarcane. They might have hired a shooter to kill the big cat," he said.
Published 01 March 2023, 19:23 IST