Chamarajanagar: A carcass of a leopard has been found at a granite quarry in Kottalavadi in the district yesterday. It is suspected to be a case of poisoning, that has flagged concerns, especially after a tigress and its four cubs were found dead due to poisoning at M.M. Hills Wildlife Sanctuary in the same district recently.

The incident has occurred at a stone quarry belonging to Pradeep. The male leopard aged around 5 to 6 years, is suspected to have died about three days ago. The carcasses of a dog and cow were also found near that of the leopard, casting several aspersions about the nature of death of the wild animal.

The villagers who came across the carcasses alerted Forest Department, who rushed to the spot. Subsequently, Forest Sniffer Dog was summoned to the spot.

Forest Veterinarians Dr. Wasim and Dr. Murthy conducted autopsy of leopard, before cremating the carcass at the same spot.

Chief Conservator of Forest (CCF) T. Hiralal, Director of Project Tiger, Biligiri Ranga Tiger (BRT) Reserve Sripathi, ACF Manjunath, RFO Sandeep, DRFO Amarnath, Suresh and other officials visited the spot.

Several stone quarries are operational at Kottalavadi and surrounding villages, for the heaps of stones turning into a perfect habitat for leopards. Moreover, the area is contiguous with Bandipur and Tamil Nadu forest areas. The livestock of nearby villages, have become a perfect target for the wild animals to prey on. It is common to hear about leopards on the prowl in these villages in the night hours.

In December 2023, highly decomposed carcasses of two tigers had been found at a quarry near Kottalavadi. However, the reasons for their deaths, still remains a mystery.