Two leopard cubs were found dead under mysterious circumstances in a field near a village under the Katarniaghat Wildlife Division on Sunday, forest officials said.

Based on pugmarks and surrounding circumstances, officials suspect that an adult leopard killed the cubs following a territorial conflict.

The mutilated carcasses of the cubs -- a male and a female aged around six to seven months -- were discovered in Mangaurhia village under the Motipur Forest Range, they said.

Motipur Range Forest Officer Surendra Kumar Tiwari told PTI that villagers spotted the bodies in the field around 10.30 am on Sunday.

The cubs bore injury marks and villagers also allegedly noticed an adult leopard sitting some distance away from the carcasses, after which they alerted the forest department's patrol team.

Acting on the information, a team of forest officials along with veterinary expert Dr Deepak Verma reached the spot and examined the carcasses, he said.

Based on the circumstances, Tiwari said it is suspected that a grown leopard killed the cubs over a territorial conflict.

He added that such clashes among leopards are not uncommon in the area, often linked to dominance disputes. It is also possible that an adult leopard attempted to take away the cubs, leading to a confrontation, he said.

The bodies have been brought to the range office and postmortem examination is being conducted as per the standard operating procedure, the officer said, adding that the exact cause of death will be ascertained after the report and further investigation.

Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Telegraph Online staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.