A week after it was rescued, a six-year-old male leopard that was found injured near the Government Botanical Garden in Udhagamandalam seems to be making some progress, as both the animal as well as a team of dedicated veterinarians fight to increase its chances of survival.
Soon after the rescue, the Forest Department officials noticed that the animal was affected by epileptic seizures and was unable to stand on its own. Forest officials and veterinarians suspected that it might have been affected by the canine distemper virus and collected samples and sent it for testing. However on Friday, District Forest Officer (Nilgiris division) D. Guruswamy confirmed that the animal tested negative for the viral infection.
“The health of the animal has seen a marked increase over the last few days, but it is still not eating food on its own, which is a concern,” said the DFO.
Ever since its rescue, the leopard is being treated by a dedicated team of veterinarians from the departments of Animal Husbandry and Forest.
E.Gochalan, a veterinary assistant surgeon, said that a full-body X-ray was performed on the animal, and there was no signs of bone injury.
“However, it does seem to have an injury to one of its rear legs, as well as to one side of its body, indicating some kind of blunt force trauma.”
He added that despite the signs of progress, the team would only be more comfortable about the chances of the leopard’s survival once it starts eating food.
