Modern Weights and Measurements of Leopards

[Pckts]

SHIMLA: When a team of local hunters and forest officers shot a leopard in the forests of Bilaspur Himachal Pradesh on Friday, they were only bringing down a man-eater that had spread fear in the area. But a routine measuring of the animal after the hunt made them realise that this was no ordinary wild cat. At eight feet seven inches from head to tail, it could well be one of the longest big cats of its species.

According to records available with government agencies in the state, the longest leopard until now has measured 8 feet and 2 inches. Himachal Pradesh principal secretary of forest and environment, Tarun Kapoor said that the animal, killed at Patta village of Bilaspur has been preserved and experts have been called in to verify if this is in fact the biggest of the Indian leopards. "We are getting more details from Wildlife Institute of India," Kumar said.

Once they get the confirmation, the officials will approach the Guinness Book of World Records for an official entry. The cat is 34 inches tall and weighs 70.850 kg. Forest officers said that it had become a man-eater after it was caught in a farmer's trap and injured its left leg. Unable to chase more sprightly prey it started attacking humans. It had killed one 46-year-old man and attacked a couple of others before it was shot down.

Leopard population in Himachal Pradesh is estimated to be 785. In the first-ever GPS-based study in India conducted two years back, scientists had concluded that leopards in human areas were not always 'stray' or 'conflict' animals but residents, potentially requiring policy-makers to rethink India's leopard-management strategies. Scientists have delved into the secret lives of these big cats and recorded their 'strategies' to thrive in human-dominated areas. The study was a collaboration of Vidya Athreya of Wildlife Conservation Society, Scientists from Norway, Sandeep Rattan of Himachal Pradesh Forest Department, Maharashtra Forest Department and Asian Nature Conservation Foundation.

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