A male leopard, aged five to six years, was found dead near the Talavadi Forest Range in the Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve (STR) in Erode district, on Sunday, March 31, 2024.
Forest Department staff said they received information that a carcass was found on a vacant plot of patta land located outside Gumatapuram village, about 500 metres away from the Biligiri Ranganathaswamy Temple (BRT) Temple Tiger Reserve Division in Chamarajanagar district in Karnataka.
A team, led by S. Sadasivam, wildlife veterinarian of the STR, and comprising of assistant veterinarians M. Janani (Talavadi) and Prabhukumar (Soosaipuram) in the presence of K. Sudhakar, District Forest Officer of Hasanur Division and Deputy Director of STR, performed an autopsy and took vital samples for laboratory analysis. The standard operating procedures as stipulated by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) were followed during the process.
Veterinarians said no external injuries or symptoms of electrocution were found on the carcass. A sniffer dog from the Germalam Forest Range was also pressed into service to check for evidence. An inquiry is underway to ascertain the cause of the death.
