A leopard was found dead in Odisha's Balasore district, sparking an investigation into the circumstances surrounding its death in the Kathagochi Reserve Forest.
A leopard was found dead in a forest in Odisha's Balasore district, officials said on Wednesday.
The incident happened in the Kathagochi Reserve Forest in Nilgiri Forest Range's Mitrapur section, they said.
On the basis of information received from the area, a team of forest personnel visited the spot on Tuesday morning and found the leopard carcass in a wired net, they added.
It is suspected that the 10-year-old leopard was trapped in the net on Monday night, officials said.
A three-member team of veterinary doctors conducted the post-mortem examination at the spot, they said.
"Preliminary investigation suggests that the leopard had struggled to escape for a long time but failed," a senior officer said.
The carcass was buried in the forest after the post-mortem examination, he said.