Bhubaneswar: Khalikote forest officials have arrested two people in connection with the death of a leopard whose carcass was found hanging from a tree near Jarada village under Kabisuryanagar block on Tuesday.
The arrested persons are residents of the same locality. They were produced in court on Wednesday, forest officials said.
The male leopard was spotted dead atop a tree two days ago with a snare entangled around its body. Local residents noticed the carcass in the morning and alerted the forest department. Senior forest officials reached the spot soon after being informed.
The carcass was later brought down from the tree for further examination. While the exact cause of death is yet to be confirmed, officials suspect the leopard died after getting trapped in a snare.
“The leopard might have climbed the tree after getting caught in the snare and later succumbed. The snare was found entangled around the carcass,” said the Berhampur DFO. Forest officials believe the trap may have been laid by poachers to hunt wild boar and other animals, but the leopard got caught in it instead.
An autopsy was conducted on the carcass by a veterinary team as per standard operating procedure. Further investigation is underway.
