Leopard dies after being run over by goods train in Rajasthan's Bundi

A two-and-a-half-year-old female leopard died here on Sunday, two days after she was run over by a goods train in Bundi district of the state.

The leopardess was undergoing treatment at the Abheda Biological Park in Kota. She was run over on the Bundi-Chittor railway track near the Bheemlat tunnel on the intervening night of Thursday and Friday.

A doctor who was on a three-member medical board that conducted an autopsy on the animal said it suffered critical injuries — a forelimb and the tail were severed, there was a deep wound on its forehead and multiple organs were damaged.

"Most of its internal organs, including lungs, kidneys, intestine and spleen, were damaged, and it was impossible to save its life. On Saturday, the leopardess had awakened for a bit after five hours of treatment and made some body movement, which raised our hopes for its recovery," Dr Vilasrao Gulhane said.

But the animal died at 8.30 am on Sunday. The carcass was disposed of as per norms after the autopsy, he said.

Meanwhile, wildlife enthusiasts alleged that the forest department was reckless in its attitude towards the safety of wild animals. Absence of advanced diagnostic technology for the animal in Kota and the lack of basic medical and tranquilising facilities in Bundi were the reasons for the death of the leopard, they claimed.

The injured leopardess could have been saved had it been recovered immediately after the railway guard reported the incident at 2 am on the intervening night of Thursday and Friday, but the forest staff waited till Friday morning for a medical team to reach the spot from Kota to rescue the animal, said Vittal Sanadhya, a wildlife enthusiast in Bundi.