Skip to content

Two leopard skins seized in suspected wildlife-trafficking raid in Kalahandi

Research · Ecology

Forest officials in Kalahandi district, Odisha, India, arrested seven people during a raid in Saisurani Range, in the Thuamul Rampur forest area. The Kalahandi South Forest Division said it suspected the group of hunting wild animals and preparing to smuggle their body parts. Officials said they intervened before a planned trafficking operation could take place.

The reported seizure included two leopard skins (Panthera pardus), as well as claws, bones, teeth, whiskers and other pieces of animal skin. Officials also recovered a live wild boar weighing about 10 kilograms and the head of a monitor lizard. Weapons and hunting equipment included a country-made muzzle-loading gun, gunpowder and pellets, a bow and two arrows.

The Forest Department registered a case under India’s Wildlife (Protection) Act, and the seven arrested people were produced before a court, according to the reports. Officials said other suspected members of the alleged racket were still being sought. The reported seizure and arrests do not establish who killed the leopard or where the skins came from, and the people arrested have not been proven guilty.

Sources and image credit

  1. Wildlife poaching, trafficking racket busted; 7 arrestedReport attributes the operation and seizure information to forest officials in Kalahandi. The incident should be presented as an allegation, not proof of guilt.
  2. Leopard hides seized in Kalahandi; 7 detainedContemporary report of the same operation and seizure; supports describing the case as alleged.

Image: A leopard (Panthera pardus pardus) moves through grass in Kruger. Photo: Charles J. Sharp / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0. Representative photograph. · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source

About this content: This story was produced with AI assistance within an editorial workflow developed by Wildlife Vagabond. Editorial responsibility remains with Wildlife Vagabond.How AI is used

Ecology

SPECIES IN THIS STORY

Species in this story

Leopard Panthera pardus Explore species

Independent research and conservation news archive

Did you find this information useful?

Wildlife Vagabond is independently built and maintained. Voluntary support helps cover source verification, hosting and continued work on research and conservation news.

Support Wildlife Vagabond

The news archive will remain freely available.