Two more leopards found dead in The Nilgiris

It was suspected that it must have eaten something poisonous, leading to its death. Range Officer of Segur Range P. Ramesh said there were no outward signs that the animal had died of poisoning. But it looked like it had suffered some external injuries, leading to a suspicion that it could have also been killed in a fight between animals. Meanwhile department personnel continued to search for the carcass that could have been preyed upon by the leopard and the four wild dogs that were found dead only about a kilometre away, last weekend. It was suspected that all five animals had preyed on the carcass of the same animal and it could have claimed their lives. They said that the cause of death could be ascertained only on receiving the forensic report of the organ samples of the animals, which were sent to a Chennai lab for analysis.

The decomposed carcass of a leopard was found in Pandiar Division of TANTEA, field no 55, in Gudalur Forest Division. The age and gender of the animal could not be ascertained due to the decomposed state of the carcass. District Forest Officer of Gudalur Division PK Dileep said that the animal could have died more than four days ago. Autopsy revealed that the animal could have injured after a fall as its ribs were broken, resulting in its death. Samples were collected from the animal and sent for forensics analysis. Carcasses of both the leopards were burnt and disposed.