A female leopard, whose body was recovered from inside the Bandhavgarh National Park (Umaria) on Thursday, was cremated after post mortem on Friday. The park officials have assumed that the feline might have suffered serious injuries while confronting a tiger. However, unconfirmed sources have not ruled out the possibility of the leopard getting injured in a trap laid by poachers.
According to information available, a female leopard's body was found by one of the patrolling parties of the park at Kallawah range on Thursday evening. The big cat had serious injury marks on its spine. The post mortem revealed the possibility of it getting injured during a confrontation with a tiger.
"On the basis of the post mortem report we have concluded that the big cat might have a confrontation with a tiger over a kill (pray). During the tussle, the big cat had suffered serious injuries in its spinal chord," informed park director Aseem Srivastava. He added that the remains of a calf and signs of tiger movement around the site where the leopard was found suggest a tussle between the tiger and the leopard.
The director added that the leopard, after getting injured, sat on a tree but its condition deteriorated as the injuries generated infection and it fell off the tree and died later.
Srivastava however failed to confirm the age of the leopard but claimed that it was an aged big cat. He also turned down unconfirmed reports that a poaching trap was also found at the site and informed that the big cat has been cremated inside the park after autopsy.
Central Zoo Authority meet
The proposed meeting of Central Zoo Authority (CZA) in the last week of March is expected to pave the way for bringing a white tiger couple to the Van Vihar National Park in Bhopal from Nandankanan Zoo in Orissa. With the CZA approval, the new members of Van Vihar are likely to reach the State capital by mid April. Van Vihar office bearers have discussed the issue with the Member Secretary Central Zoo Authority (CZA) BR Sharma, who was in the State capital on Friday. Sharma convened a meeting of officers from Van Vihar, Indore and Gwalior Zoos in connection with the CZA's proposed master plan which aims at upgrading all the zoos of the country. The Van Vihar administration is expected to submit the proposal for the master plan by March 31.
