Leopard Death After Setting Out Poisoned Chicken Baits-[2] dead leopard was poisoned and paws cut and removed

Leopard Death After Setting Out Poisoned Chicken Baits

A week after the partly decomposed carcass of a leopard was found near Usgaon village in Vasai, the owner of a resort in the area has been arrested for the death of the big cat.
Napolean Gonsalves (67), who owns Mountain View Resort and a poultry farm in the area, had laced a chicken with poison and kept it as a bait to get rid of stray dogs in the area.
Subsequently, these dead dogs were eaten by the fully grown male leopard whose carcass was found on January 22 with two of its paws missing and the claws of the other paws severed.
“We arrested Gonsalves on January 28,” confirmed Range Forest Officer of Mandvi, Samir Deshpande, who is the investigating officer for the case. “Gonsalves, who has been charged under sections of the Indian Forest Act and Wildlife Protection Act, has been remanded in our custody.”
Deshpande said that during the probe they initially suspected it to be a case of a group of poachers or that the leopard could have been killed by local villagers to ward off trouble. However, the possibility of poaching seemed rather remote as poachers would not have spared the leopard’s skin and bones, which fetch a huge price. However, as the investigation progressed, they had clues that indicated to the resort owner’s involvement.
“Information gathered from locals in the tribal area and from resort workers indicated that stray dogs posed a huge menace to the resort. To tackle this, poisoned chickens were kept which the dogs ate, causing their death. The leopard, in turn, could have feasted on a dead dog, leading to the wild animal’s death,” said Deshpande.
A senior forest official said that a half-eaten dog was found in the leopard’s stomach during the post-mortem examination. “Besides, three dog carcasses were found in the area; one of them was partly eaten,” said the official.
This half-eaten canine carcass helped investigators join the dots.
“Seems like those dogs too could have been victims of poisoning,” the official said. “The effect of the poison must have been very strong that it killed the leopard.”
A report from the forensic laboratory is awaited, said forest department officials, adding that they were not sure by what time it could be received.
Sources from the state forest department the leopard could have leapt out of the Tungareshwar Wildlife Sanctuary, the boundary wall of which stands barely seven metres from the spot where the leopard’s carcass was found.
“There are several resorts that dot the forest area. With all what is revealed, it’s time to carry out surprise crackdowns on such resorts to ensure that they do not indulge in such illegal acts of killing dogs or leopards,” said a forest official who did not wish to be named.
As for the missing paws and claws, forest officials that it was “a different crime” and that they were close to solving this one too.
Chief Conservator of Forests (Thane) R K Pole said, “The matter is under investigation. We are on the right track.”
Poachers, beware
Principal Secretary (Forests) Praveen Pardeshi said the department was coming down heavily on poachers. “Apart from the Vasai incident, we have come across three to four other cases of panther traps in Vidarbha region. Last week, a tiger was electrocuted in Chandrapur,” said Pardeshi. “I have told the deputy conservator of Thane to take precautions. The forest department is also tying up with a non-governmental organisation, Wildlife Trust of India , to tackle poaching.”

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dead leopard was poisoned

A leopard that was found dead at the Yeoor range of the Sanjay Gandhi National Park on April 16, was poisoned, tests have revealed. Eight nails from the front paws were missing, leading to suspicion over its death.
A dead dog was found next to the leopard, which forest officials had

sent for analysis to the lab. Satish Phale, assistant conservator of forests, said that the forensic report, which is with the department, revealed that the leopard died because of the poison that had entered its body from the flesh of the dog it had eaten on the day it died.

Sunil Limaye, chief conservator of forests, said, “We have detained two locals in the case.” However, both suspects were later released as forest officials did not find anything suspicious on them.

“The same type of poison was found in the dog meat and in the leopard’s stomach. The report revealed that the poison was first given to the dog and then entered the leopard’s stomach when it killed the dog,” said a forest official, on condition of anonymity.

Krishna Tiwari, a wildlife expert, said, “It is difficult to say, but if it was poaching, then all nails would have being removed. Leopards hunt locals’ animals, because of which they are sometimes poisoned to end the nuisance. This must be one such case.”