4 sloth bears, leopard drown in Maharashtra

MUMBAI: Four sloth bears were found dead at the bottom of a well in Chandrapur district, in the buffer zone of the Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve, on Thursday morning. The victims include one male and one female adult, and two cubs. Forest department officials suspected that the animals had drowned after falling into the well.

Praveen NR, chief conservator of forests (Chandrapur) said, “The autopsy results are not available yet, but the animals likely fell into the well inadvertently, perhaps when it was dark. The incident happened outside the tiger reserve area in Chandrapur forest division in Vadholi village.” He also added that the animals were not missing any body parts, ruling out any indication of poaching.

Meanwhile, a six-year-old female leopard was also found dead at the bottom of a well in Pune district’s Junnar taluka on Wednesday morning. The animal was also found wrapped in a large plastic bag, eliciting scepticism as to whether its death had been staged. Autopsy results showed animal had drowned, with water entering its lungs through the nose and mouth.

“The animal was found near Dangarwadi village. A sugarcane farmer saw the animal and alerted us. The well in which the leopard drowned is surrounded by cane fields on three sides, but the crops have been harvested and the area is now being used to graze livestock. It’s possible that the leopard was looking for prey in the area,” said Manisha Kale, round forest officer, Narayangaon.