Kozhikode: Amidst anxiety over the tiger attack in Wayanad and the appearance of a tiger at Thamarassery Ghat road, another wildcat has captured the State's attention. A leopard carcass was found in Mainavalavu, Muthappan Puzha, near Thiruvambadi here.
The carcass with porcupine quills was found in the early hours by a dairy farmer en route to the milk society. The leopard is estimated to be around three and a half years old. "The leopard might have been stung by quills when it tried to catch the porcupine," Divisional Forest Officer Abdul Latheef, who visited the site told Onmanorama.
The body was taken to the forest department's lab at Sulthan Bathery. It will be buried only after the autopsy.
Locals at Muthappan Puzha, a mountain valley area near the forest, were worried over the increasing presence of leopards in the area. Two months ago, a dairy farmer lost a cow, presumably to a leopard raid.
