Vandalur zoo vet to treat injured leopard in Nilgiris

COIMBATORE: A veterinary expert from Chennai has arrived in The Nilgiris to treat the injured leopard, which was rescued from a snare on Monday.

K Sridhar, assistant surgeon from Anna Zoological Park in Vandalur has joined veterinarian K Rajesh Kumar here to treat the severely injured animal in Theppakadu in Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR).

The female leopard, aged around three years, was found snared in a farm in Pandalur. It was darted with a tranquilizer, relieved from the trap and taken in a cage to the veterinary hospital in Mudumalai for an examination early on Sunday morning.

The leopard struggled to move and remains immobile due to a suspected fracture in its hind legs. Therefore, Sridhar had arrived from Chennai along with an ambulance equipped with X-Ray facilities to examine the animal.

“The leopard, which remained weak, is showing signs of recovery and took meat and fluids. However, it has suffered severe wounds while attempting to free itself from the snare. External wounds were applied with medicine; however, it needs to be known if the animal had sustained any internal wounds to commence treatment accordingly,” said an official.

MTR Field Director D Venkatesh said that the animal will be kept in a cage during the process of treatment. “It will be released into the wild, once the animal recovers completely,” he said.

While one person has been arrested under the Wildlife Protection Act 1972, a search is on for one more prime accused for setting up the snare to poach wild boar for meat.