Leopard rescued from tree succumbs to hunger and stress

Pilibhit: A year-old male leopard cub that was rescued from a tree in Vitaniah village, under limits of Nanpara forest range of Bahraich district's Forest and Wildlife division, succumbed to "hunger and stress" as it was too young to be capable of killing prey.According to the DFO, S Sundaresh, the leopard was rescued around 11.30 am on Wednesday following information from villagers when it was spotted on a tree top. The leopard cub was thereafter trapped in a net, in an operation which lasted for over two hours. However, the cub died while it was being shifted to range headquarters in a cage.Autopsy was conducted around 5.30 pm by a panel of three veterinarians led by Dr Deepak Verma, a veterinary officer of Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary. Its findings stated the cause of death was "acute congestion in lungs and absence of food in the intestine". "Viscera samples were collected and sent to Bareilly-based Indian Veterinary Research Institute for further tests," he said.The leopard cub, which was separated from its mother about 4 months ago under unknown circumstances, developed a tendency to climb the tree at night to protect itself from adult carnivores and to then get down early in the morning to hide in the farm lands, the DFO said, adding that since the cub's survival without its mother was not possible, it was being shifted to a zoo.