In a tragic accident, the two-year-old male leopard which had been allegedly hit on the Kundli-Manesar-Palwal expressway on Saturday, died due to grave injuries it suffered.
The animal passed away at the Rohtak Zoo veterinary hospital while being treated for its injuries, the forest officials stated.
Talking to the media, Gurugram’s Wildlife Officer, Rajender Prasad Dangi, confirmed the death and stated: “When our staff had rescued the leopard, it was unable to move. The leopard suffered a fracture in its left leg and spinal cord due to which it was unable to move. The animal had sustained grave injuries and it was also facing problems in breathing during the treatment.”
The accident had taken place around 8 a.m. in Padheni village in Tauru and local residents and the police had informed the Forest Department, who then rushed to the spot and moved the injured animal to vet hospital.
Sharing details about the accident, Dangi had told Indian Express: “The road where the incident took place has the Aravalli forest bordering it. According to locals, the animal was trying to cross the road when it was hit by a speeding vehicle. It suffered injuries on the spine and back and its movement was restricted. The injury was pronounced on the back side. The injuries were not external.”
There have been reports of leopard deaths in road accidents in the past from Haryana. Last year, a two-year-old female leopard was found dead on Pali-Surajkund. Another female was killed in Manesar in 2019. The present accident is the seventh one to be reported since 2015.
There have been vociferous demands by people for creating wildlife friendly facilities like construction of underpasses on highways. Also it has been suggested to radio collar the animals and map the areas frequented by them to minimise such incidents.
Environmentalist Vaishali Rana talking to HT observed: “We lost another leopard due to lack of wildlife friendly roads. I have been writing to the department for over two years now to construct wildlife underpasses at key points as Aravallis have a good population of leopards. Due to lack of proper checks, we are losing our wildlife.”
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