Forest Department officials incinerate leopard which was found dead in Shahapur Branch Canal

Forest Department officials have incinerated the carcass of a four-year-old male leopard, which was found dead in the Shahapur Branch Canal (SBC) of the Narayanapur Left Bank Canal (NLBC), near Gogi (K) village in Shahapur taluk on February 19, after completing the legal procedure.

According to Annaraya Patil, Deputy Conservator of Forest (DCF), the leopard was found dead in the SBC near gate number three of Boruka Power Plant in Gogi (K) village. The plant’s staff noticed the carcass and informed the Forest Department.

“The officers reached the spot where the carcass was found. In the presence of Mallayya and Bandenawaz, representatives from the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF), and the Chief Wildlife Warden (CWW), the carcass was lifted from the canal water for further procedures,” Mr. Patil told The Hindu over the phone.

Annarao Patil, Chief Veterinary Officer of the Animal Husbandry Department in Shahapur, who conducted the postmortem examinations of the dead animal, told The Hindu that it was suspected that the leopard slipped into the canal and was carried by the water for a kilometre.

“Multiple internal injuries were found. We collected the nine key organs from the body and sent them to the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad, for examination, and the reports are awaited,” Dr. Patil said.

Thereafter, the forest officers took permission from the local court and incinerated the dead animal in Shahapur on February 19.

A case was registered under the relevant section of the Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972.

Sunil Chawan, Assistant Conservator of Forest, Bhaganagouda, Range Forest Officer of Shorapur, Kashappa, Deputy Range Forest Officer, and others were present.