Amid reports of the second leopard fatality in Madhya Pradesh this week, officials at the Sonkhar forests of Balaghat district on Wednesday said they were awaiting the autopsy report to ascertain the reasons behind the death of a one-year-old spotted big cat that was found dead by a forest patrol.

The patrol discovered the carcass of the cub in the Lamta range of the Sonkhar forests on Monday evening, but decided to keep the body under a vigil, as it was already dark.

A veterinary expert was summoned to examine the body of the cub on Tuesday. "The poaching possibility has been discarded, as the body parts of the leopard are intact," said the DFO of the Lamta project of the Forest Development Corporation.

He added that the leopard only bore an old injury mark and added that he would only be able to comment on the exact reasons behind the death after he receives the autopsy report.

The forest official informed that the remains of the feline were burnt after conducting the autopsy on Tuesday afternoon.

The recent death is another jolt to the leopard population of the State, as this year as many as 10 of these spotted felines have lost their lives due to an assortment of reasons.

The reports of the fatality in the Sonkhar forests comes close on the heels of the untimely demise of an adult leopard that was crushed to death by a speeding vehicle on NH-17 near Katni, in the wee hours on Tuesday.