Krishnagar (WB), February 23: A fishing cat was hacked to death by villagers after they mistook it for a leopard in Nadia district, a forest department official said today.
The animal, about four feet in length, had entered the village last night.
J P Guharoy, Krishnagar range officer, said the carcass was then hung from a tree in Shutia village from where the forest department recovered it.
“The fishing cat is an extremely rare species enlisted in the Schedule I of rare animal’s index. We heard there may be another such type of animal in the area. We are searching for it,” Guharoy said.
The carcass has been sent for autopsy.
-Agencies