Panaji, Apr 29: A leopard, trapped while roaming in a village in South Goa, died in the wee hours of Tuesday at a zoo where it was brought for treatment, state forest minister Vishwajit Rane said.
Upset over the death of the wild animal, Rane said he has asked the state government to suspend Deputy Conservator of Forest (DCF) Navin Kumar for alleged dereliction of duty, which he said, led to the unfortunate incident.
The minister told reporters that the leopard died while receiving treatment at Bondla Zoo, which is part of a wildlife sanctuary, at around 2 am on Tuesday.
The wild cat was trapped by the forest department on Monday after it was found roaming in the village of Villian under Sanguem taluka bordering the Netravali Wildlife Sanctuary.
Rane hit out at DCF Kumar over the leopard’s death.
“It is shameful that an officer like Navin Kumar has to be forced to go on the field and do his duty. He was forced to go to Bondla (Wildlife Sanctuary) and assess the situation by the chief conservator of forest,” the minister said.
“It is unfortunate we could not save the leopard,” Rane maintained.
He insisted that the protection of wildlife remains a priority of the state government and NGOs and other stakeholders are being roped in for the task.
Referring to incidents of animals being hit by vehicles while crossing roads passing through wildlife sanctuaries in Goa, the minister asserted he will take up the matter with the state government to ensure there are speed limits on such streets.
Hours after the leopard’s death, Rane said the state government would sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with an NGO to deal with cases of “wildlife emergencies” in the state.
“The state government is in the process of final discussion with NGO Wildlife SOS which has centres across the country so that we can have centres across Goa to deal with wildlife emergencies,” he said.
“With the association of Wildlife SOS, we will be able to protect wild animals, especially endangered species,” he said.
The minister said his department was trying to rope in veterinary doctors who can ably handle cases of wildlife rescue operations and emergencies.
“We are also in talks with good veterinary doctors based out of Goa,” Rane added.
The state government has also appointed a team led by Principal Chief Conservator of Forests Kamal Datta, nodal officer Frezella Araujo, advisor Sujit Dongre, wildlife enthusiast from Karnataka Giri Kavale, and Charan Desai to oversee the agreement with Wildlife SOS, he added. (PTI)
