Udhagamandalam: Leopard sub-adult male, trapped in the snare placed on a barbed wire fence at Yellanhalli near Ooty, dead immediately after it was saved on Thursday.
Locals, who found the leopard was trapped on the fence on agricultural land in Jothi Nagar, had told the forestry department.
The animal, about three years, may be stuck in a snare planted on the fence, said the Saravanakumar forest conservator assistant.
“It will struggle to release him from snares throughout the night and thus it hurts his back legs badly.
It took almost eight hours for our team to release it from the snare.
However, the animal died in half an hour after being released,” he said.
“We think the stress is the main reason for the cause of death,” the official said.
The carcass was taken to the forest rest house in a deer park near Ooty Lake for Postmortem.
Samples are collected for lab tests.
Then, the carcass was burned in the reserve forest.
“Snare is placed for the hunt for wild boar.
Investigation is underway,” Saravanakumar added.