As many as 14 monkeys were found dead in the forests of Someshwara Wildlife Sanctuary close to the second curve of the Agumbe Ghat near Someshwara village in Udupi district. The incident may have happened between late Thursday night and the early hours of Friday.
Ganesh Bhat, Deputy Conservator of Forests (DCF), Kudremukh Wildlife Division, told The Hindu that the monkeys appeared to have died of poisoning. On getting news about the dead monkeys and others struggling to survive at around 3 a.m., Forest personnel rushed to the spot and tried to save those struggling, but could not do so. The last of the deaths occurred at around 9 a.m., he said. Post-mortem was carried out by a veterinarian at Hebri. The viscera and other samples have been sent to two laboratories — one in Mangaluru and the other in Shivamogga —for further analysis, he said.
“ Prima facie , it appears to be a case of suspected poisoning. But we have to wait for the post-mortem report before coming to any conclusion,” he said.
