Leopard dies while trying to free itself from poachers' trap

A leopard died today while trying to free itself from a trap laid allegedly by poachers at Sausar forest range in the district near here.
"The leopard, which appears to be three-year-old, got stuck in the trap of wires laid by poachers. It attempted to free itself, but died in the process," Chhindwara South Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Ravindra Mani Tripathi told PTI.
Post-mortem of the animal has revealed that it died of cardiovascular failure as it made repeated attempts to disentangle itself, he said, adding the leopard might have got trapped while returning to the jungle after drinking water from the Zam river.

Asked if the rescue team from nearby Pench Tiger Reserve took six hours to reach the spot after being informed about the incident, Tripathi said the animal had died hours before the team's arrival.
"The team reached the spot within four hours after being informed," he said, adding investigation is on to trace the poachers.