Locals found the bodies of a leopard cub and its mother in a wadi in Bahadgaon area and informed the Vangaon police, who in turn informed Boisar forest range officer.
Villagers have long been worrying about cattle missing from grazing grounds and suspect big cats to be behind the mysterious disappearances.
The cub is said to be a month old while the mother is a fully grown. Officials said the skin and nails of the animals were intact and that they might have died at least 15 days back.
"Villagers have long been suspecting that leopards are killing their cattle. May be they trapped them and killed them. We cannot confirm if a male leopard too is present in nearby forest," said a tribal resident.
"When we were informed about the bodies of leopards, we rushed to the spot and collected the remains of the decomposed bodies. We will send it for medical examination. It looks like natural deaths, and not poaching, said Nandkishore Kupte, assistant conservator of forest, Palghar Range.
"The skin and nails of both the leopards are intact. We suspect they consumed poisonous substance. We will however investigate all angles, said Kupte.
