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Locals spotted the leopard caught in a snare on the patta land at Naragiri in Kotagiri taluk
UDHAGAMANDALAM: A female leopard was found dead in a metal wire trap placed on a parcel of patta land in the Nilgiris district on Sunday evening. Forest officials arrested the owner of the patta land on Monday.Locals spotted the leopard caught in a snare on the patta land at Naragiri in Kotagiri taluk and informed the officials in the Kattabettu range of the Nilgiris forest division. The patta land belongs to K Thangaraj, 62. On Monday, forest veterinarian Dr Rajesh Kumar carried out a postmortem in the presence of higher forest officials, representatives from NGOsand local authorities, following the guidelines set by the National Tiger Conservation Authority. Rajesh Kumar reported, “The nails and canines of the leopard were found intact. After the postmortem, the carcass was incinerated.”Kattabettu forest range officer Srinivasan said, “The female leopard was around four years old. We registered a case against the owner of the patta land and arrested him.”Further investigations are on. According to forest officials, a reserve forest is located just 500 meters away from the site where the leopard was found dead. There are tea plantations outside the reserve forest.