Palakkad: Wildlife chief veterinary surgeon Arun Zackariya, who conducted the post-mortem on the leopard that died in a chicken coop in Mannarkad here on Sunday morning, said the animal was killed by a health condition called 'capture mayopathy.'
The condition, which shocked the caged animal, resulted in internal bleeding and cardiac arrest, the doctor said.
The four-year-old male leopard was found in the cage around 2am by local resident Philip, when he checked the enclosure.
The animal was initially found healthy despite an injury to its paws. Speaking to Manorama News, Philip said he was woken up around 2 am by the cries of the birds. When he checked the cage, he found the leopard attacking the hens. Seeing Philip, the big cat tried to prance at him. He immediately locked the coop, he said.
The animal remained the coop for almost six hours. The police and forest officials, who reached the spot, found the animal dead.
