A black panther was found dead after being hit by a speeding train on a railway bridge in Kundapura forest range in the wee hours of Monday.
Passers-by noticed the body of the panther in the middle of the Mangaluru-Mumbai track on the railway bridge across Souparnika river between Nada-Badakere and Arehole in Byndoor taluk of Udupi district on Monday morning. They immediately informed officials of the Forest Department.
Kundapura Range Forest Officer Prabhakar Kulal told The Hindu the panther, around four or five years old, must have been walking in the middle of the track on the bridge to cross the Souparnika. While panthers are very quick to respond to exigencies, this animal one appears to have had no time to respond being on the middle of the bridge when the train reached the spot.
The body was removed and post-mortem was conducted before burning it, Mr. Kulal said. Black panthers are not commonly sighted in the region.
