Forest officials who claimed the body of a dead leopard from Shivansai, Virar on Tuesday fear that the big cat could well have been killed by poachers. According to forest officials, autopsy report on the big cat suggested that its four canine teeth along with claws were missing.
Requesting anonymity, official said that, veterinarians who carried out the post-mortem on the animal reported that teeth and claws were missing. “When the body was brought in veterinarians saw that teeth and claws seemed to have been pulled out from the body of the leopard. It suggested that the big cat was killed by poachers who took the canines and claws away,” said the official.
When the ADC questioned why was the skin was not taken as its one of the prized reasons for poaching, officials stated that the trade of animal skin has been on the radar since a longtime. Fearing their run in with the law if they traded the skin, poachers must have dumped the body. Veterinarians are investigating the cause of death as well. Senior forest officials from Sanjay Gandhi National Park, however, refrained from providing any comments on the case.