A male leopard was found dead in a snare, with three of its limbs cut off by the poachers in a private tea estate in Mel Thattapaalam in Kotagiri forest range in the Nilgiris forest division on Saturday.
In a statement to the media, the Forest Department said that they had received information that a leopard was found dead in the area. During the course of the investigation, they discovered that the animal got caught in a snare, and that the persons responsible for ensnaring the animal had cut off three of its limbs.
Officials said that leopard paws were highly sought after in the national and international black market. However, they found that the animal’s teeth, which are also usually extracted by poachers in such instances, were still intact.
A case has been registered and special teams have been formed in Kotagiri and Kil Kotagiri to trace people involved in the crime.
The poaching of the leopard is the latest in a series of hunting and poisoning cases of leopards and tigers that have hugely impacted the Nilgiris forest division in 2023.
In the beginning of the year, the poaching of a tiger as well as a leopard by a gang from North India came to light following their arrest in Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve. Following the incident, two tigers died due to poisoning near Avalanche, while most recently, a group of poachers from Gudalur shot and killed a gaur near the Ketti dam, prompting concerns among conservationists about the inefficacy of forest patrols and anti-poaching activities in the division.
N. Sadiq Ali, founder of the Wildlife and Nature Conservation Trust, said that if the poachers in Avalanche hadn’t been caught in neighbouring Sathyamangalam, their crimes in the Nilgiris forest division would have most likely gone unnoticed.
“Even in the case of the hunting of the gaur, only three of the accused were secured, while the main members of the gang remain at large,” said Mr. Ali adding that the lack of action against poaching could lead to such gangs becoming further emboldened in the future.
“The Forest Department needs to step up their vigilance, and build better informant networks to clampdown against poaching groups before they strike,” he said.
