A fishing cat (udbilao), which is a rare and protected animal under Schedule-I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, was found dead on the National Highway 58 near the Upper Ganges canal in Ghaziabad town of Muradnagar on Wednesday, according to police.
“About 5.30 am on Wednesday, we received a call from an unidentified man that a carcass which looked like that of a leopard is lying on the side of the NH-58 near the Upper Ganges canal. On getting this information we rushed to the spot to investigate and also informed the local forest officers.
They came and took the carcass of the animal away,” a police officer said.
Forest department officials identified the animal as a fishing cat which is a Schedule 1 animal and is protected under Schedule-I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. Joga Singh, Divisional Forest Officer Ghaziabad said: “The animal might have come to the canal for hunting and met with an accident while crossing the highway. The vehicle owner fled the spot. A First Information Report has been registered and the carcass has been sent for autopsy. The forest police are trying to arrest the culprit.”