Leopard cub dies on Faridabad expressway

A 10-month-old leopard cub died when an unidentified vehicle rammed it on Saturday night on the Gurugram-Faridabad expressway. "A passerby informed local police about the fatal accident in Pali area of Faridabad district on this busy expressway. The wildlife officer of Faridabad range immediately went to the spot and recovered the carcass," said Shyam Sundar Kaushik, Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) of Gurugram range.

This was the second road accident on this expressway when a leopard cub had lost its life. Earlier, a 7-month-old leopard died in similar circumstances four years ago at Mangarbani T-point on this stretch. "Leopards generally venture out in the night to search for food and water and stray on the busy expressway surrounded by the dense forests of Aravalli mountain on both sides," the official said.

The Aravalli mountains of Gurugram and Faridabad all the way to Sariska in Rajasthan is known to be a leopard-prone area. The area around Mangar forest in Faridabad to Ghata village in Gurugram is known as a dense forest and natural habitat to wild animals such as hyena, python and wild pigs besides leopards. Chetan Agrawal, a prominent Gurugram-based environmentalist, expressed grief over the death of the leopard.