Guwahati: A leopard reportedly died instantly after being hit by a vehicle on Sunday night in Assam’s Nagaon.

The leopard was attempting to cross a bypass road when the vehicle allegedly “ran over” it killing the big cat on the spot.

The forest department promptly recovered the carcass of the leopard and arranged for post-mortem.

This follows the discovery of an adult leopard’s corpse in a tea estate at Mariani in Jorhat district on February 13th.

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Locals said that authorities must take steps to ensure the safety of wildlife and prevent such incidents from occurring in the future while at the same time ensuring the safety of human lives.

The presence of leopards in human inhabitet areas has become a source of conflict between people and wildlife.

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As human populations increase and their activities encroach on the leopards’ natural habitat, leopards are often forced to venture into human-inhabited areas in search of food and shelter, leading to conflicts with locals.

Leopards have been known to attack livestock and people, often resulting in loss of life to humans as well the big cats. Although several measures are being taken to control such conflicts, no permanant solution has been found.