Black panther dies after being hit by express train near Udupi

A black panther was killed by a train on a railway bridge near Kundapura in the Udupi district of Karnataka at 2 am on Tuesday (February 2).

According to reports, it was hit by Mangala Express when it had gone towards a railway bridge in Badakere village in Byndoor taluk in Udupi district. The railway line connects Mumbai with Mangaluru.

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Forest officials said the panther probably had little time to react or space to move when it was hit by the train. Forest officials were alerted after passers-by discovered the panther’s body.

The panther was said to be four or five years old. And a postmortem was conducted on the panther and it was ascertained that it was hit on the head.

Black panthers are rarely sighted. Forest officials say only about a handful have been spotted in Kundapura but this is the first time one has been killed in a train accident.