18-month-old leopard found dead in mysterious circumstances

A probe has been launched to ascertain whether the wild creature was killed either by another animal or by a human being. Even though the body of the wild animal was discovered by villagers in the morning, it is believed that the leopard died on Monday night.

According to forest officials, in the recent years, there has been a significant increase in the population of leopards that is resulting in frequent sightings.

Frequent sighting of leopards may have caused optimism among the wildlife officials about an increase in the population of leopards in the Aravallis in and around Gurugram.

However, lack of effective wildlife management plan to preserve the wildlife in the Aravallis is adversely affecting the flora in the green belt of Aravallis. Most of the plans that have been mulled by city wildlife officials towards protection of wildlife in Aravallis have still not been implemented.

While wildlife officials assure that steps are being taken towards the protection of animals, they also conceded that a lot of administrative delays from the higher authorities are causing a delay in implementation. Further, there were plans to fix radio collar devices among the leopards so that their movements can be tracked. This process has also not been implemented as of now.

Besides leopards, other wildlife species found in the city are Hyenas, Nilgais Civet cats and rabbits. There are also a large number of exotic birds that abound in the green belt area during breeding seasons. Besides the bureaucratic delays, the officials raised the issue of encroachments, illegal mining and human hostility as the major factors jeopardising the safety of wildlife in Aravallis.

"On our part, we are taking steps towards protection of the wildlife in Aravallis. There is a huge budget allocated towards building the fences so that the wild animals do not stray into human areas. We are also digging pits in collaboration with other agencies so that animals do not have to venture outside for water," said a senior forest official.

"Even as steps are being taken, challenges still abound. Lack of clarity in laws has resulted in encroachments on the green belt area. Also, the human hostility towards animals has increased over the years, "he added

"Apathy of public officials has affected a large part of flora and fauna of the Aravallis. In the recent past, hundreds of trees were cut to make way for a real estate project. The wildlife is surely going to suffer in this situation," said SS Oberoi, an environmental activist.