Aravallis: Mysterious deaths of leopard, 2 hyenas shock villagers

Gurugram: A leopard and two hyenas were found dead under mysterious circumstances on Tuesday in the Aravallis near Sohna. The carcasses of the animals were first spotted by villagers of Nangli village

Both forest and police officials were immediately informed. The carcasses have been sent for autopsy by the officials.

"The bodies of a leopard and two hyenas were recovered on Tuesday morning. However, the actual cause of deaths would be ascertained only after an autopsy," said MS Malik, principal chief conservative officer, forest department.

Officials suspect that the reason behind the deaths could be the animals consuming some poisonous substance. As per officials there have been no injuries that have been reported on dead animals.

"There has been no injury on dead animals. We are coordinating with officials of the forest department and are waiting for the autopsy report in which the causes of death will be clearer," said Arvind Kumar, station house officer (SHO) of Sohna City police station.

The incident has once again shown the vulnerability of wild animals in Aravallis. Less green cover, encroached spaces of natural aquifers has resulted in a large number of wild animals to come out in the open as they do not have enough food and water to consume within the forest area.

There have been complaints of how lackadaisical approach by the officials to not build enough check dams and replenish the natural aquifers has ensured that most of the trees are also dying due to lack of enough water. Major development works around the area like building of roads has resulted in a large number of wild cats losing their lives while crossing the road in the night.

In a survey conducted by the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) in 2017, 31 leopards, 166 foxes, 126 hyenas, 26 wild cats had their habitats in the Aravallis in Gurugram.