DEHRA DUN, OCT 10: The recovery of a leopard carcass in the proposed Rajaji National Park, which was reportedly killed during the Wildlife Week, has again highlighted the issue of unabated poaching inside forest parks and sanctuaries.The recovery comes just a day after another leopard was reported to have been killed and skinned in a village in Cuddapah district of Andhra Pradesh.The body of the two-year-old female leopard was found in the bushes near the Bagro river in Kharkhari area of Haridwar yesterday. The animal was believed to be killed on the October 6 or 7 during Wildlife Week.While the park authorities maintain that the young female leopard died of natural causes, wildlife enthusiasts and villagers have raised doubts about this possibility. When contacted, C.P. Goel, director of the proposed Rajaji National Park said that the leopard was probably crushed by elephants since foot printsof elephants were also found near the carcass. He said that the abdomen of the dead wild animal was found ruptured, which also points towards the possibility that the animal was crushed to death.But villagers and wildlife enthusiasts believe that the leopard was probably hit by hunters and chased into the bushes, where it finally died. They ridicule the claims of park officials that the leopard was crushed by elephants.Dr. Diwakar Sharma of `Prikriti Mitter', a voluntary group committed to wildlife conservation, believes that it was unlikely that one of the most agile animals could be trampled by elephants unless it was injured.Goel, however, said that the post-mortem of the animal also confirmed that the animal was crushed to death. The carcass was burnt by the park officials after the post-mortem.Residents of the area have often alleged that poaching in the proposed Rajaji National Park has been going on unabated. Mohd Alam, a Gujjar living in the Mohand range of the park and victim of the alleged nexus between forest officials and the poachers, charges that he was shot by poachers two years ago for giving information about them to forest officials. He further alleged that it was the forest officials who tipped off the poachers about his complaint.On August 31 this year, when Haridwar police nabbed a gang involved in a fake currency racket, they also seized six skins of wildlife animals from their possession.Goel, though, maintains that the latest incident was not a case of poaching and pointed out that there are still 177 leopards in the proposed Rajaji National Park as per the 1999 census.
