Leopard killed in suspected road hit near Coimbatore

Forest Department staff were trying to trace the vehicle that could have possibly been involved in the road hit.

A leopard which was found dead in a reserve forest area of Karamadai forest range of Coimbatore Forest Division on Friday evening could have had a fatal hit by a vehicle as per post-mortem findings. The leopard’s left chest and abdomen had injuries which the animal could have suffered in a vehicle hit according to Forest Department sources. The big cat’s thorax had profuse internal bleeding possibly caused by the vehicle hit. There was an eight cm deep wound in its neck, which the veterinary surgeon suspects that the leopard could have been suffered from a sharp object like the flag rod of a vehicle. Also, a portion of the leopard’s tail and four claws of its left foreleg were also severed in the possible road hit, said sources.