A two-year-old male leopard that was found in an injured state in the Kundli-Manesar-Palwal (KMP) Expressway near Padheni village in Haryana on Saturday has succumbed to its injuries.
The leopard that was rushed to the veterinary hospital in Rohtak zoo died on Sunday, officials said.
The leopard that had suffered a fracture in its left leg and spinal cord was first spotted by two villagers on Saturday morning and informed the forest department, which rushed a wildlife team to the spot.
Budhram and Billu said they had gone for a walk on Saturday morning when they spotted a leopard lying injured on the road.
They noticed blood on its body when it started crawling and informed the forest department.
It is believed that the animal was hit by a speeding vehicle the previous day and had taken shelter near the village after it was unable to move.
Officials said that the leopard must have strayed from the forest onto the expressway and got hit by a vehicle.
The net installed to prevent wild animals from climbing on the expressway near the spot was found broken.
Nuh district forest officer Virendra Singh said the Aravali forest area is home to a large number of wildlife, especially leopards.
He said the department has plans to open a wildlife dispensary for the treatment of injured animals.
This is not the first time wild animals including leopards have been found dead in the area after being hit by vehicles.
In June 2021, a two-year-old female leopard was found dead on Pali-Surajkund road near Gurugram.
There have been over a dozen roadkills of leopards in the same area in the past few years.?
In February 2021, the administration had started putting warning signage alerting motorists about the presence of wild animals in the area.
Thermoplastic rumble strips that cause vibration were also installed at four accident-prone spots on the Gurugram-Faridabad road and one on the Pali-Faridabad stretch.
According to environmentalists due to the region's proximity to Aravallis and the Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary, wild animals including leopards straying into roads are on the rise.
The wildlife sanctuary covering 32.71 sqkm area lies in Southern Delhi and northern parts of Haryana's Faridabad and Gurugram districts.
It is part of the Northern Aravalli leopard wildlife corridor, which extends from the Sariska National Park in Rajasthan to Delhi Ridge.
They have been demanding that more wildlife underpasses should be constructed to facilitate the movement of animals and to reduce roadkills.
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