A leopard was found dead on the premises of a tea stall at Varattuparai near Valparai on Thursday.
Officials with the Anamalai Tiger Reserve (ATR) said that the animal’s right foreleg trapped in a henhouse behind the tea shop run by I. Usman in a revenue land within a tea estate on Thursday morning. The area falls within the limits of Valparai forest range of ATR.
They said that the carcass of the leopard was noticed around 7 a.m. when the shop owner went to check the henhouse.
ATR Deputy Director M.G. Ganesan said the carcass did not have any external injury. Its teeth and claws were intact.
“We suspect that the animal could have died of shock after getting its foreleg stuck in the mesh of the henhouse while trying to catch chicken,” he said and added that the actual cause of death could be ascertained after the post-mortem.
Arrangements were made for the autopsy of the carcass as per the protocols of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA).
