The carcass of a headless leopard found covered in a gunny bag in a well near Bilikere in Hunsur has left the Forest Department clueless.
The carcass was found on Friday but the post mortem could not ascertain the cause of death as the carcass had decomposed.
Veterinarian Umashankar, who conducted the post mortem, told The Hindu that intestinal samples have been sent to the Institute of Animal Health and Veterinary Biological, Bengaluru.
The 7-year-old male leopard nails were missing. Dr. Umashankar said it was surprising that the skin was intact. “Organised gang of poachers tend to take the skin, which was intact in this case, though the nails had been removed,” he said.
Assistant Conservator of Forests Prasanna Kumar said this was the first case that officials have come across in which the leopard’s head was missing. “We have not got a clue so far but interaction with local community will help ascertain if strangers had visited the spot in recent times. This can give us some lead,” he added.
Other officials suspect that the leopard’s head may have been chopped off for its skull and bones. “There are superstitions that its use may help ward off danger,” he said.
But the challenge is to ascertain whether the leopard was snared and killed for its skull or the miscreants chopped off the head of the dead leopard. “This can be ascertained only if the cause of death is known and we are awaiting the laboratory results,” Dr. Umashankar said.
This is the second leopard to have died in Hunsur region during the week. Another leopard was mowed down by a speeding vehicle on the Mysuru-Hunsur Road last Saturday.
The headless carcass was found on Friday
