Another sad news is coming from Kuno National Park. Pawan leopard brought from Namibia has died. At present, there is no official statement about the reasons for the death of the leopard. Pawan leopard’s dead body was found lying in the drain. Doctors of Kuno have suspected that the leopard died due to drowning. After the death of Pawan leopard, there are 24 leopards left in KNP. These include 12 adults and the same number of cubs.
An official said that Namibian cheetah Pawan died in the forests of Kuno National Park on Tuesday. Earlier on August 5, a five-month-old cub of African cheetah Gamini died in KNP. According to a press release issued by the office of Additional Principal Chief Forest Conservation (APCCF) and Lion Project Director Uttam Sharma, cheetah Pawan was found lying on the banks of an overflowing drain among the bushes at around 10.30 am on Tuesday.
After this, the veterinarians were informed about the incident. On inspection by the veterinarians, it was found that the front half of the dead body of the leopard including the head was submerged in water. No external injury marks were found anywhere on the body. This leads to the suspicion that the leopard might have died due to drowning. The forest department has said that detailed information about the death of the leopard will be given after receiving the postmortem report.
At present, only Pawan cheetah was roaming freely in the forest outside the enclosure. According to officials, it was difficult to catch Pawan. There is a plan to release the cubs born in India and other adults in the forest in a phased manner after the return of monsoon. Initially, all the adult cheetahs were released in the forest, but after the death of three due to septicemia, they were sent back to the enclosures.