3 leopards were found dead in the Rajaji Tiger Reserve and 1 in the Forest Circle of Uttarakhand on August 2, 2019, said the forest officials.

Prasanna Kumar Patra, the Director of the Rajaji Tiger Reserve, said that the bodies of the 3 leopards were found within one kilometer of the tiger reserve.

The Director added that 2 leopards were females and one was a male.

The 3 leopards were seen at the Laldhang Range of the Lansdowne Forest Division, which is the meeting point of the Rawasan Range, the Haridwar Forest Division, the Landhang Range, and the Chidiyapur Range.

An operation was held in the area with sniffer dogs.

Director Patra said that further investigation led them to the fourth dead leopard, which was a female. The leopard was found dead in the Lalpani are of Dehradun Forest Division.

Preliminary investigations revealed that the leopards consumed strong poison.

The leopards that were found dead did not have any wounds and injury marks from the outside, but their autopsy revealed that their internal organs were damaged severely.