Pregnant leopard killed in vehicle collision near V Kota

Tirupati: A pregnant leopard was hit and killed by an unidentified vehicle on the Nayakaneri Road towards Tamil Nadu near V Kota mandal headquarters in Chittoor district on Wednesday morning.

According to forest officials, the female leopard was attempting to cross the road near V Kota when she was hit by the vehicle around 7:30 am. A postmortem was conducted by a team from the SV Veterinary University in Tirupati, after which the carcass was cremated deep inside the forest.

The location of the accident was in the periphery of the Koundinya Wildlife Sanctuary, a home to elephants, leopards, wild boars, antelopes and other wildlife. The sanctuary is surrounded by dense forests and hills, leading to frequent encounters between wildlife and vehicles on the roads.

"The Nayakaneri road usually sees heavy traffic at night. The wild animals frequently cross these roads. In a similar incident in June this year, three elephants were killed after they were struck by a truck on the Bengaluru-Chittoor-Tirupati national highway at Jagamarla Cross near Palamaner,'' recalled a forest official.

Speaking to the Deccan Chronicle, Chittoor DFO C. Chaitanya Kumar Reddy said the big cat aged around 6 was pregnant and the hit, thus, resulted in the loss of two lives. The department has launched an investigation to identify the vehicle. Additionally, the forest department would undertake awareness drives for motorists to exercise caution while driving along the forest roads.

Conservationists have repeatedly highlighted the need for creating dedicated animal corridors in the region to enable safe passage for wildlife. They are also seeking curbs on night traffic to prevent such unfortunate incidents.