Leopard injured after being hit by vehicle on KMP expressway, rescued

Rajendra Prasad, divisional wildlife officer, said, “The road where the incident took place has the Aravalli forest bordering it. According to locals, the animal was trying to cross the road when it was hit by a speeding vehicle. It suffered injuries on the spine and back and its movement was restricted. The injury was pronounced on the back side. The injuries were not external.”

Officials said the leopard was rescued and sent to a veterinary hospital in Rohtak for treatment. “After treatment, it will be kept under observation and subsequently, it will be released into the forest in the same area,” said Prasad.

Sachin Tyagi, one of the forest wildlife guards, who was part of the rescue team, said it took over half an hour to rescue the feline.

Rajesh Kumar, inspector wildlife department, Gurgaon, said the area where the incident took place has a significant movement of leopards.

“Though there has not been an accident on this stretch in the last two years, we have received reports of leopards being spotted in the region.

Today’s incident took place at a road crossing near a flyover. It is suspected that after being hit by the vehicle, it crawled to an isolated farm area near the roadside,” he said.

In the past few years, several incidents of leopards being killed in road accidents have been reported in South Haryana. In June 2021, a two-year-old female leopard was found dead on Surajkund road in Faridabad. Officials had said that it was suspected that it was mowed down by a speeding vehicle on the road bordering the ecologically sensitive Aravalli forest area.

In January 2019, a 10-month-old female leopard was found dead near Pali, with an autopsy confirming it had been hit by a heavy vehicle. In 2017, a three-year-old male leopard was rescued after it had strayed into mustard fields near Malaka village of Tauru.

Officials said the department was working on a plan to reduce such incidents. “In the new road projects that are being developed, we have proposed that a corridor be created so animals can cross the stretch without venturing on to the road,” said Kumar.

Chetan Agarwal, a city-based environmental analyst, said, “Any such incident in a state which has such little wildlife is tragic. The authorities must work to figure out the routes frequented by wild animals in these areas and see if there is scope for making paths for them to move.

Leopards need to be radio collared so that we know what paths are being taken and the obstruction on these paths can be minimised to provide safe passage. KMP expressway is a continuous circle across NCR and if there are not enough underpasses, there will be gaps and fragments which impede movement of animals.”