Forest Department confirms leopard’s death by unidentified persons

Leopard found dead in forest, suspected to be killed by unidentified persons, sparking investigation by Forest Department.

The Forest Department has confirmed that a leopard that was found dead in the forest on Friday was killed by unidentified persons.

A four-year-old male leopard was prowling in and around villages in Kolathur, near Mettur, for the last two weeks and reportedly attacking livestock in Thinnapatti, Pudhuvelamangalam and Vellakarattur villages. Following this, the Forest Department placed cages at six spots and installed cameras to monitor the leopard’s movement. A specially trained team from Erode and Dharmapuri was also brought to the spot to capture the leopard.

On Friday, however, Forest Department personnel found the leopard dead. Veterinary doctors performed a postmortem and the carcass of the leopard was cremated inside the forest. The public was not allowed to see the carcass and the cause of death was not revealed. There was widespread speculation that the animal was shot dead or that it was poisoned. Meanwhile, Department officials held inquiries regarding the leopard’s death on Saturday.

The public took the issue to Mettur MLA S. Sathasivam, who told reporters that the villagers were feeling relieved after almost 20 days, and urged the Department not to intimidate them during the investigation. He called on the State government and the Forest Department to ensure the safety of the people.

A senior official of the Department said there were severe injury marks on the leopard. “This was not a natural death. We suspect the leopard was shot with a country-made gun and later attacked with wooden logs. The full post-mortem report will be available in 10 to 15 days. Contrary to claims, we did not threaten villagers. Our team merely investigated by reviewing CCTV footage from local houses where the leopard had attacked cattle,” the official said.