Rescued Leopards Die at Zoo in India

by Sherry Morse

Two leopards who were rescued from poachers in India and brought to a zoo to be rehabilitated have died.

Another leopard, rescued at the same time, is still fighting for its life at the zoo in Gopalpur in the Kangra district of India.

"The leopards died due to extreme shock caused by inhumane methods of trapping coupled with the stress of being in captivity," senior wildlife official R.C. Bergal stated.

Incidents of leopard poaching in India have been on the rise in recent years. Several surveys have indicated that with tigers becoming rarer, poachers are targeting leopards instead.

In 2000, conservationists estimated that around 10,000 leopards existed in the wild in India. However, with 1,000 poaching deaths every year, leopards could disappear from the country by the end of the decade.

Like tigers, Asian leopards are killed for use in traditional Chinese medicine, but they are less protected than tigers as they often move out of sanctuaries in search of food.

Trade in wildlife products is banned in India, but skins and bones of animals which are believed to have medicinal value are in great demand in the global market.

Last October, Chinese officials confiscated 1,393 animal skins in Tibet near the border with India. This was the largest haul of smuggled rare animal products in over fifty years, and included the skins of 31 Bengal tigers and 581 Asian leopards.

The seized skins were bound for the Tibetan capital Lhasa and valued at more than 1.2 million dollars, with the leopard skins estimated to be worth about $1200 each.

© 2004 Animal News Center, Inc.