NEWSLINK: Wildlife warden demands SIT probe into Rajaji leopard poaching incident

Uttarakhand chief wildlife warden DVS Khati has demanded a special investigation team (SIT) probe into seizure of leopard skin in Rajaji Tiger Reserve’s core area on March 22.


Khati made the demand in a letter he wrote to additional chief secretary Ranbir Singh on April 25.
So far, a man has been arrested in connection with the case.


Citing findings of a previous investigation conducted by Komal Singh, acting warden Rajaji, Khati has mentioned that role of a few senior forest officers and employees was dubious supporting his demand for the probe.


“I have requested the SIT investigation for a transparent investigation from the government,” Khati said.

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VIDEO: Rare sighting of Leopard eating a Cheetah

It’s unusual for big cats to prey on each other, but as this video shows, it certainly can happen.

A visitor to the Kruger National Park uploaded this video with the explanation that it happened before the Easter weekend, about 3km south of the Tshokwane picnic site on the tar road, reports Lowvelder.


For a leopard to kill a cheetah may prove that stealth is ultimately more effective than speed.

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UK: All the times big cats have been sighted in Essex

You may think it would be quite rare to see a panther roaming the fields of Essex, but there have been big cat sightings across the county for decades.

The so-called 'Beast of Essex' is thought to look like a black panther or puma.

Legends of a black ghost dog, known as the black shuck, have existed across East Anglia and Essex for centuries.

A midwife in the 1930s allegedly spotted the dog when riding home one night in Tolleshunt D'Arcy.

But sightings of the dog are far less common than those of big cats in Essex.

The most recent sightings in Sible Hedingham and Great Notley have sparked yet more debate over the beast's existence.

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NEWSLINK: Reported black panther sighting in bushland near Emu Plains

Greg Culley and his 13-year-old son Samuel were walking in bushland north of Knapsack Reserve by Lapstone Creek on April 14 when they heard a tree branch rustling about 20 metres away.

“There was a thud like something came out of the tree. We thought it was a roo. But it was a large, shiny, black animal as big as a German Shepherd,” Mr Culley said.

“It was a big mass of black, flying at stealth mode along the ridge. Sammy saw the tail. It moved like a cat.”

Mr Culley believed it was too big to be a feral cat, nor did he think it was a kangaroo. He took a photo of leaf litter he believed was scattered on the ground as the panther made its swift departure.

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NEWSLINK: The Asiatic lion thrives in Gujarat’s Gir Forest Reserve

In Gujarat’s Gir Forest Reserve, the last home of the Asiatic lion, the big cats have been falling into open wells, running into electrified fences, getting hit by trains, and dying in other unnatural ways.


The deaths are, in an odd way, a measure of Gir’s success at conserving the lion.


The numbers have risen to such an extent that more and more lions are venturing outside the reserve’s protected areas. Nevertheless, Guin jarat has set about trying to find a way to minimise these unnecessary deaths.

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NEWSLINK: Rarest big cats in the world battle back from edge of extinction

The world’s rarest big cat, the Amur leopard, has reached a significant milestone in a battle against extinction – with 100 of the animals now living in the wild in a nature reserve in Russia.


Ten years ago, the number of wild Amur leopards had fallen to 30, and scientists feared the species was on the brink.


The species remains highly endangered, but scans by experts in Russia’s Land of the Leopard Nature Reserve in 2017 showed 100 animals, with 84 adults, living wild in the area.

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NEWSLINK: Panic in Narela school after leopard spotted inside

A suspected leopard sighting at a Kendriya Vidyalaya School at Air Force Station, Ghoga, complex in Narela, north Delhi, spooked the authorities and students on Tuesday.


The big cat was spotted by a team of patrolling security officers when it crossed their vehicle around 12 am on Monday night. Apparently, they also shot a video of it.

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