A two-and-a-half-year-old female leopard was found dead on a railway track near Devanuru Railway Station in Kadur taluk on Monday. The wild animal had injuries on the head and one of its legs was cut. It was suspected to have been hit by a train.
M.S. Manik, Deputy Conservator of Forests, Chikkamagaluru Division, told The Hindu that the animal must have come to the railway platform in search of stray dogs. “The leopard may have accidentally come in the way of the train. During post-mortem, it was noticed that it had serious head injury. A leg was also cut,” said the officer. Veterinarians conducted post-mortem on Monday evening and later it was cremated.
Meanwhile, environmentalists have expressed suspicion over the death of the leopard. G. Veeresh, environmentalist, told The Hindu that the scene at the spot did not look like an accident. “If the animal was hit by a train, its body should have been cut into pieces. It seems, the animal was killed somewhere else and thrown on the railway track,” he said. However, Mr. Manik refuted the allegations. “Our preliminary findings show that it died after being hit by train,” he said.
