... as suspicion falls on farmers over rising number of big cat deaths
A
day after a four-year-old tiger died in a road accident in Haridwar,
the carcass of an adult leopard was found near Gauratpur Bass village in
the foothills of the Aravallis in Gurugram district on Sunday.
Locals
said that this was the second incident of a dead leopard being found
near the village in the last five months, with a three-month-old leopard
cub found injured in the same vicinity on December 5, 2015.
While
district wildlife officials have declared it a natural death, local
sources claim that foul play cannot be ruled out considering the number
of farmhouses situated in the area.
The carcasses of big cats have
previously been found in the foothills of the Aravallis. The remains of
four leopards were found on the ITC golf course in April 2014. (file
pic)
According
to wildlife conservator of forests Rambir Singh, the carcass of a big
cat was found with its back in a decomposed state. However, the front
part of the body was intact, hinting at a natural death. “It
appears to have died of hunger and lack of water. We have conducted a
post-mortem and are waiting for the result to ascertain the cause of
death, its age and gender,” the conservator said.
It
is not new for the carcasses of big cats to be found in the Aravallis
region, along Gurugram district. In fact, four leopard carcasses were
found around the ITC golf course in April 2014.
The latest incident has triggered sharp reactions from wildlife activists and environmentalists. “We
may never know how this poor leopard died. But every leopard lost in
the Aravallis is a matter of concern. They are the guardians of this
precious range of hills that are the only hope for an environmentally
secure NCR. We must do everything possible to keep the Aravalis and the
wild leopards that still live there, safe”, Belinda Wright, executive
director, wildlife protection society of India.
Villagers
hinted that three farmhouses were under suspicion during the rescue of
the injured leopard cub in December. They claimed that leopard cub was
held captive for some days in one of the farmhouses. “There
was a foul smell coming from among the bushes near the farmhouse for a
couple of days. The smell was unbearable. When we went to look into the
matter, we found the body of decomposed leopard,” said Baliram Singh, a
resident of Gairatpur Bass village.
He added that an injured leopard cub was found near the same spot last December.
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