A highly decomposed carcass of a leopard was found in Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR) in the Nilgiris on Tuesday evening. Forest staff found the carcass at Mudumalai range of forests in MTR while patrolling.
Postmortem was conducted on Wednesday. "The leopard would have died at least a week ago. No external injuries were found on the animal. However, the animal might have fallen from a tree and sustained internal injuries while fighting with another carnivore," Saravanan, deputy director, MTR and Mukurthi National Park said. "It is a clear case of infighting. The animal would have encountered a fight for territory either with a tiger or a leopard," he further said.
However, forest officials could not identify whether it is a male or a female. "It should probably be a male, aged around 5 to 6 years," the official said. 18 claws of the animal were recovered and all it's from canines were intact.
Post-mortem was conducted and the carcass was burnt inside the forest area.
Postmortem was conducted on Wednesday. "The leopard would have died at least a week ago. No external injuries were found on the animal. However, the animal might have fallen from a tree and sustained internal injuries while fighting with another carnivore," Saravanan, deputy director, MTR and Mukurthi National Park said. "It is a clear case of infighting. The animal would have encountered a fight for territory either with a tiger or a leopard," he further said.
However, forest officials could not identify whether it is a male or a female. "It should probably be a male, aged around 5 to 6 years," the official said. 18 claws of the animal were recovered and all it's from canines were intact.
Post-mortem was conducted and the carcass was burnt inside the forest area.