Tigiria: A female leopard was killed after it fell into a snare laid by poachers at Sorishapala jungle near Bhiruda village under Tigiria forest range in Athagarh forest division in Cuttack district.
The matter came to the fore after locals spotted the carcass of the animal and informed the Forest department officials, who rushed to the spot and recovered the carcass.
The carcass was trapped in a snare made from clutch wires of vehicles.
Sudarshan Gopinath Yadav, divisional forest officer (DFO), Athagarh, Ghanashyam Muduli, ACF, Gajendra Singh Mathore, Forest ranger and forester Rakesh Pradhan conducted an investigation at the spot.
Later, the carcass was sent for post-mortem. As per reports, the leopard got entangled in a wire snare laid by poachers to hunt wild animals.
As the leopard made desperate attempts to escape from the snare, it inflicted self-injuries and died of asphyxiation, the veterinarians conducting the post-mortem said.
It is suspected that the leopard might have got ensnared Monday night. The population of leopards is critically endangered in India.
Loss of habitat and prey as well as intense persecution as livestock killers are the major threats to this species. They are heavily hunted for their skin and bones, which are supplied for preparing traditional Chinese medicines.
PNN