One arrested on suspicion of leopard poaching

Poro Velip (78) of Velipwada Morpirla was arrested by the Forest
Department on suspicion of poaching of a leopard that was caught in a
wire snared to catch wild boars at Dabe (Padi) Quepem. But, on
Wednesday, the Margao court released him on conditional bail as he was
ill.

This leopard killing case came to light last Saturday. The leopard was
caught in a snare trap and died. His lower jaw teeth and nails were
removed. Day After 'Gomantak' daily brought this matter to light, the
assembly session took notice of this news and congratulated Gomantak
daily for its reportage.

When the forest officials investigated the matter, they found an
illegal gun at Velip's house and detained him.

Meanwhile, the condition of the suspect deteriorated and he was
admitted to the hospital. For this reason, the court, while granting
bail, released him on a bond of 10,000 and one surety of the same
amount.

He has been ordered to appear before forest officials for questioning
from 10 am to 5 pm for five days and not to go out of Goa without the
permission of the court.

Meanwhile, the forest officials informed that their investigation is
in progress in this leopard poaching case. The missing teeth and claws
of the leopard are yet to be recovered.

Over the last two years, the leopard population in India is on the
rise and Goa, a small State which has a significant portion of the
Western Ghats, has also reported several sightings of these cats and
also some cases of attacks.

The leopard census of 2018 had reported that the population of these
cats in Goa too had increased. Besides Goa, the leopard count was
taken in States such as Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu where the
Western Ghats run.

Most of the leopards are found in the six wildlife sanctuaries and one
national park in Goa.