Leopard dies at Amagarh reserve due to infighting

JAIPUR: A leopard died at Amagarh reserve forest due to infighting on Sunday, said officials.

"A leopard aged between 13-15 was found dead at the Amagarh forest reserve. Prima facie, it seems the leopard died due to infighting as it had injury marks on the head and neck. A postmortem was conducted, and then the leopard was cremated," said an official.

In February 2023, the state government had issued a notification declaring Jhalana-Amagarh reserve forest, which is situated in the middle of Jaipur and houses more than 40 adult leopards, as a conservation reserve (CR).

Spread across 3,507.17 hectares, the reserve forest is the 21st conservation reserve in Rajasthan and is protected under the Wildlife Protection Act (WPA) of 1972, making it mandatory for planners of development projects within the area to get clearance under the Forest Conservation Act, 1990, and the approval of the State Board of Wildlife (SBWL) and National Board for Wildlife (NBWL).

After a census conducted in 2022, the forest department had said the number of leopards in Jhalana-Amagarh forest reserve had increased to 40 from 28 in 2019.