Three leopards found dead; poisoning suspected

A five-year-old leopardess and two cubs were found dead on a field behind the government hospital at Hallere village in the taluk, on Monday. The cubs (a male and a female) may be around five months old, it is said.

According to sources, the distance between the carcasses were approximately 100 metres. No injury marks were found on their bodies. The wild cats might have been poisoned to death, it is suspected.

According to the veterinarian who conducted the postmortem, the animals may have died on Saturday. The viscera of the animals have been sent to the forensic lab for tests.

As the pug marks of the leopards were not found on nearby fields, there is a possibility that the dead animals were dumped here, said DCF K C Prashant Kumar.

Speaking to DH, Prashant said, “The viscera of the animals have been sent for tests. The exact reason for the deaths would be ascertained only after the reports are received”.