Forest staff rescue injured leopard cat

The Tribune , Monday, February 06, 2012
Correspondent : Lalit Mohan / Tribune News Service

Dharamsala, February 5

Officials of the Forest Department have rescued a leopard cat that lost one of its paws allegedly due to a trap laid by poachers. The officials said the endangered leopard cat was rescued from under a culvert near the railway track on the Baijnath-Pandol road yesterday.

The officials received information from villagers who raised the alarm that a leopard cat was hiding under a culvert. The officials, led by Sohanlal, Range Officer, Baijnath, rushed to the spot and rescued the leopard cat.

ARM Reddy, Conservator, Forests, Kangra, said the leopard cat was taken to a veterinary hospital at Holta. It was found that the paw of the front left leg of the cat was amputated due to some accident.

After preliminary medical aid, the cat was shifted to Dhauladhar Nature Park at Gopalpur for rehabilitation.

A report in this regard has been filed in the police station at Baijnath. The matter was being investigated by the police, he said.

Reddy said leopard cats kept the rodent population under control, thereby protecting forest plantations and crops.

The decreasing population of leopard cats has been attributed to habitat loss and poaching. They are hunted mostly for fur that looks like that of leopard cubs.

The Conservator of Forests said the vulture population in Himachal was “growing very well”. At one spot at Pandhu Nullah in the Pandhwar beat of the Lapiana Forest Range, more than 50 vultures were sighted on a carcass by forest officials.

Van sarovars being constructed by the Forest Department under the MNREGA were aiding nesting sites and had resulted in an increased population of vultures in the district, he said.

 
SOURCE : http://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20120206/himachal.htm#5
 


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