A five-year-old leopard died reportedly in a territory fight with a tiger in Gundla Brahmeswaram Wildlife Sanctuary on Wednesday.
During a routine patrolling in the wildlife sanctuary in the Nandyal Forest Division, forest officials found the leopard lying on the ground and thought it was sleeping, but when it did not move for a long time, they went closer and found it dead.
Nandyal Divisional Forest Officer Vineet Kumar, a veterinary doctor and other Forest Department officials rushed to the spot and through investigation concluded that it was a territory fight going by the scars on the body of the leopard and the ground scenario on the spot. The carcass was consigned to flames after post-mortem and panchanama.
Close to Velugodu, the area is a deep thick forest with a good number of felines making it their home. Experts suspect that the tigress could have been with its cubs, which would have scared the animal and led to the territory fight. Tiger being bigger and more powerful animal, it probably overpowered the leopard. Such indents are common in the wild, especially among the carnivores.
