Bhubaneswar: Three days after a male leopard died after being caught in a snare trap laid by poachers, a female leopard was found dead under suspicious circumstances in the Tamra range of Bonai Forest Division in Odisha’s Sundargarh district on Friday morning.
According to forest officials, the animal was less than 3 years old.
While senior officials, including the RCCF and the DFO, have begun an investigation into the incident, it is being suspected that the leopard might have died due to poisoning, possibly as part of retaliatory action by locals.
A villager has been detained for questioning as part of the probe.
Sources said that a leopard is said to have killed a bullock in Khasda forest near Kusumdihi village in Tamra range, and a villager later discovered the partially eaten carcass. Anticipating that the leopard would return to feed on the leftovers, the accused villager poisoned the remaining portion with agricultural pesticide.
The carcasses of the bullock and the leopard have been seized for further examination.