Three held with leopard skins
July 7th, 2010 - 8:24 pm ICT by IANSDehradun, July 7 (IANS) Three people were arrested with leopard skins and bones in Dehradun in Uttarakhand, an official said Wednesday.
In a joint operation of the Uttarakhand Forest Department and the Wildlife Protection Society of India (WPSI), three leopard skins were seized from Vikasnagar and Kalsi area of Dehradun.
“Bullet holes were found on the skins. It is believed the animals were killed in the nearby forests of Vikasnagar and Kalsi,” a WPSI official said in New Delhi.
Forest officials are looking for a poacher who allegedly shot the animals.
The number of leopards is dwindling fast. In 2008, there were about 12,000 leopards in India.
“Poaching of leopards for their body parts is the primary reason for their declining numbers. Of the 202 leopard deaths reported in the country so far this year, 50 percent involved either seizure of body parts or death due to poaching,” the official said.
The highest number of 65 leopard deaths have been reported this year from Uttarakhand alone.
- This year, 130 leopards poached in India (With Images) - Sep 04, 2010
- Two leopard skins, bear gall bladder seized in Uttarakhand - Sep 16, 2010
- This year, 130 leopards poached in India (Lead, With Images) - Sep 04, 2010
- Leopard skins, bear gall bladder seized in Uttarakhand - Sep 30, 2011
- Fighting chance for India's tigers: Poaching declines - Feb 08, 2012
- Leopard poachers get six years' jail - Nov 15, 2010
- 20 wild animal skins seized in Uttarakhand - Jun 04, 2010
- Tigers facing doom in Bangladesh? - Jul 30, 2011
- Missing in action, Uttarakhand's goral and barking deer (With Images) - May 18, 2012
- Students campaign to save tigers in Coimbatore - Dec 17, 2010
- Panther poaching in Sariska has Rajasthan worried, probe ordered - Mar 09, 2012
- Leopard's carcass found in Uttar Pradesh forest - Feb 21, 2011
- Poachers held with leopard skin - Feb 10, 2011
- Dead leopard found in jungle warfare campus - Mar 07, 2012
- Open core areas of wildlife parks to tourists: Khurshid - Jan 07, 2011
Tags: animals, body parts, bones, bullet holes, deaths, forest department, forest officials, India, leopard skins, leopards, nearby forests, New Delhi, poacher, seizure, wildlife protection, wpsi