1Department of Surgery, College of Veterinary Sciences, CSK HP Krishi Vishva Vidyalaya, Palampur-176 062 (H.P.)
2Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Regional Station, Palampur-176 062 (H.P.)
*Corresponding author: email: npkurade@yahoo.co.in
Thorough necropsy examination was carried out on 35 carcasses of leopards received from different parts of Himachal Pradesh during 2001–2009. The various causes of mortality recorded were traumatic injury (42.86%), enteritis (17.14%), pneumonia (20.0%), jaundice/hepatitis (8.57%) and autolysis/unidentified (11.43%). Among the cases of traumatic injuries, wire trap injuries (60.0%) due to entry into human habitat were most common. Pneumonia was the frequent cause of death in captive leopards as compared to wild trapped animals. Presence of tapeworm Taenia taeniaeformis was recorded in both wild and captive leopards (25.7%).
Necroscopy, Leaopard, Traumatic injury
