Leopard killed in road mishap on Nashik-Aurangabad highway

A fully grown leopard was killed on Friday night after being hit apparently by a speeding vehicle on the Nashik-Aurangabad highway. This affected traffic flow on the busy road for a few hours.

Residents of Chandori village rushed to Nagapur phata around 9 pm after hearing a sound that appeared to be the result of a crash. They saw a profusely bleeding big cat lying on the road. The animal had died on the spot.

Locals said the leopard was hit on the head probably by a big speeding vehicle. There are many big cats in the area as the sugarcane fields dotting the surroundings provide them a natural habitat, they said.

"It was a sad scene to see the leopard dead in the middle of the road. Though locals here dread even at the mention of the word leopard or after seeing pug marks in their fields, a lot of them had gathered at the spot," said Kiran Wagh of Chandori village.