Three-year-old leopard dies in road accident

A three-year-old female leopard was killed in a road accident after being run over by an unidentified vehicle on NICE Road in the early hours of Sunday (March 15).

The incident is said to have occurred at around 1 a.m. while the leopard tried to cross the road on the stretch between Bannerghatta and the Kanakapura exit.

“A three-year-old female leopard, while crossing the road, was hit by an unidentified vehicle leading to its instant death on NICE Road. Forest Department officials visited the spot and removed the carcass. A wildlife offence report has been filed and an investigation is on,” said Bengaluru South Division Assistant Conservator of Forests V. Ganesh.

Forest Department officials said that an autopsy is being conducted.

In the past, there have been instances where leopards were killed in road accidents on NICE road. The forests and scrublands fringing Bengaluru harbour an estimated 80–85 wild leopards.

A camera-trap survey by Holématthi Nature Foundation (HNF) last year spotted 54 leopards inside Bannerghatta National Park and around 30 of them roamed in the reserved, deemed, and private forests scattered across the metropolitan periphery.