In a disturbing sight, a two-year-old female leopard was found hanging from a tree alongside an electric pole in Mandawar village in Sohna near Gurugram. The big cat was presumably electrocuted after the animal got ensnared in an overhead high-tension power cable on the outskirts of the village.
Panic spread across villages after the locals saw the dead leopard and informed concerned authorities. Forest department officials reached the spot after getting reports of the leopard hanging from high-tension wires.
“It is a clear case of electrocution. There is no foul play. It seems the feline came in contact with the wires while chasing prey, most probably a monkey. The face of the leopard is completely burnt,” a report in The Hindu quoted Divisional Forest Officer Shyam Sunder as saying.
Also read: Thane: Courageous teenager fights off leopard, save 7-year-old cousin
“We have sent the carcass for postmortem and further investigation is on,” DFO Shyam Sunder added.
Inhabiting the Aravalli mountains, leopards in the region often stray into the villages in search of food and water. The felines have been killed in accidents while crossing roads on a few occasions and sometimes beaten to death by villagers. Ten leopards have died in Gurugram and Faridabad in the last four years.
For a long time, environmentalists have been demanding that the Aravallis in Haryana be declared a sanctuary.
