MAHABUBNAGAR: In what can be described as a victim of man-animal conflict, a five-year-old adult male leopard was found dead beside the Hyderabad-Bengaluru National Highway 44 near Thatikonda village of Bhootpur Mandal on Thursday.
It is believed that an unidentified vehicle rammed the leopard while it was crossing the road. This is the third such incident to be reported in the last few years. A leopard was found dead on the railway track in Devarkadra Mandal a couple of years ago. Last year, a leopard succumbed to its injuries after a herd of buffaloes managed to fight back when it attacked them.
District Forest Officer S Satyanarayana said: “These leopards may be coming out of the forests unable to find prey, as the number of deer has been dwindling. In the recent past, wild animals have also been migrating from forests in Vikarabad and other areas to Mahbubnagar forests, which could be in search of prey and also a mate.”
He pointed out how a bison was recently found inside the Appanapally forest reserve located close to Mahbubnagar town, and how it couldn’t be tracked later, as it must have gone back to where it came from.
Due to the extension of roads in villages and also in the forests, he said that such encounters were becoming more frequent.