UP: Leopard found dead in Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary

Bahraich (UP), Sep 14 (PTI) An adult male leopard was found dead by forest workers in the forests of Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary in Bahraich district, officials said on Sunday.

During regular patrolling in Kakraha forest range of the sanctuary on Saturday, the forest workers found the leopard with wounds on the neck and stomach, Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) of Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary Suraj said.

They informed the officials and brought the leopard to the range office where a panel of three veterinarians conducted the post-mortem, he said.

According to the doctors, the dead leopard was a male, whose age is estimated to be about seven years and the marks of wounds point towards a conflict with other animals. The DFO said that disputes over territory among leopards also lead to conflict.

This year, six leopards, one tiger and one elephant have been found dead in various areas of the Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary, including the one of Saturday.

According to officials, there are about 100 leopards and 70-80 tigers in the forests of Katarniaghat. The Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary is spread over an area of about 550 square kilometres. PTI COR NAV SHS SHS SKY SKY SKY