Leopard caught in snare trap meant for wild boar dies in Kannur's Malur panchayat

Kannur: A leopard caught in a snare trap meant for wild boar died after forest officials tranquilised it at Malur panchayat in Kannur district on Thursday.

The male leopard, estimated to be around five years old, was found trapped by its waist on a private property at KPR Nagar near Peruvangattayi Anganwadi, 300m from the Malur grama panchayat office, around 4 am on Thursday, said Forest officials.

Neighbour Babu of Peruvangatt Vayal, who owns three cows, heard a commotion near his shed around 4 am. When he checked, he found the leopard caught in the snare. The animal had apparently been trapped for more than an hour by the time residents alerted the authorities.

Malur panchayat president K Suresh Babu said residents called him around 5 am.

Forest officials reached the spot and struggled for around six hours to subdue the animal. A team led by veterinary surgeon Ilyas Rawther administered three doses of tranquiliser before the leopard was finally sedated around 10 am. It was then secured in a net and taken in a cage for treatment.

Officials said the leopard had repeatedly tried to free itself, causing the noose around its waist to tighten. The leopard was seen repeatedly rearing up on its hind legs and clawing at the tree to which the cable was tied, and biting at the branches as it struggled to free itself.

The loop was made of a steel cable. Forest officials said the leopard had been trapped for several hours before it was tranquilised and freed from the cable. But after the animal was sedated, the leopard's condition began to deteriorate. Officials initially considered taking it to Wayanad but decided to keep it under observation at the Aralam Rapid Response Team (RRT) hospital. The leopard died while under observation.

Aralam Deputy Range Forest Officer M Shainy Kumar said the animal could have died from internal injuries sustained while struggling in the trap. The autopsy was yet to be conducted. Doctors were expected to perform the postmortem at the RRT hospital in Aralam on Thursday evening.

Forest officials said leopards caught around the waist in snare traps rarely survive.

The officials said the landowner, Ramakrishnan Pillai, would be booked as the first accused in the case under the Wildlife Protection Act. They said keeping snare traps for wild animals was illegal and that an investigation would be conducted to identify the person who set the trap.

Pillai, however, said he and his family members rarely visited that part of the property and that he had no knowledge of the snare. The area, he said, was heavily overgrown, and the trap could have been set by someone else.

Leopard sighting
Suresh Babu said residents were surprised to find a leopard in the area as there had been no recent sightings in the panchayat.

About five months ago, however, residents had reported seeing a leopard dragging away a dog near Puralimala forest, around 10km from the panchayat office. "Forest officials had then set a trap to catch it," he said.

The panchayat has a forest boundary, but there have been no reported leopard attacks, he said. Wild boars, however, routinely raid crops in the area, with animals coming down from Puralimala forest into residential areas.

Suresh Babu said overgrown vegetation on private properties could also be providing wild animals with places to hide. "If you look around, you cannot make out the difference between forest and village," he said.

Forest officials said such overgrowth could be one reason wild animals venture into human habitation. Suresh Babu, however, said the leopard found on Thursday was only around five years old and should have been able to find food in the forest.