Skin of poached leopard seized, 4 held in Hyderabad

The skin of a male leopard was seized from four poachers on Monday at Rachakonda. The poachers were part of a gang which regularly hunted tigers as they knew the skin and nails of the animal are in high demand in the black market.

Rachakonda: In a shocking case of wildlife poaching, the skin of a male leopard was seized from four poachers on Monday by police at Rachakonda.

According to the reports, they were part of an 8 to 10-member gang of poachers, which regularly hunted tigers as they knew the skin and nails of the animal are in high demand in the black market.

"They had killed the two-year-old leopard and skinned it about three months ago after setting a wire trap in a forest near Srikakulam at the Andhra Pradesh-Odisha border," the police said.

"After killing animals, they inform their source for disposing of the skin for a particular rate. They rate ₹5 lakh for leopard skin. For tiger's skin, they get around ₹25 lakh," the official added.