Udhagamandalam: The forest officials suspect that the tiger, which was found dead in South division of the Nilgiris forests on Tuesday, might have been poisoned to death after they found at least 20 dead crows next to its carcass. The postmortem of the big cat was conducted on Wednesday.
If circumstance evidences are anything to go by, the tiger might have been poisoned to death, said forest officials. A cow was found killed about 150 metres away from the tiger's carcass. But the animal was reportedly killed by a carnivore at least one-and-a-half-months ago.
"Besides, at least 20 crows were found dead near the carcasses of tiger and cow," said district forest officer (DFO) C Badrasamy.
During a routine patrol, forest watchers found the carcass of the cow in 'Thomund' and that of the tiger just 150 metres away. Besides, at least 20 dead crows were found there. The spot is a reserve forest area in the South division of Nilgiris forests. "Considering the sheer circumstances, we suspect that the big cat was poisoned in the act of revenge killing," said Badrasamy.
According to the official, the tiger, measuring 286cm in length and 84cm tall, might have died at least three days ago. Autopsy was conducted by Dr Vijayaraghavan, veterinarian attached to the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve, in the presence of representatives from National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), local NGOs, local body and forest officials as per the guidelines of NTCA.
"Preliminary autopsy report has revealed that the tiger suffered gastritis and dysfunction of organs. Samples of the carcass have been collected and they would be send for lab test," said the DFO. "Only after the lab test we can be sure of the cause of death," he further said. Also, samples of the carcasses of cow and crows were collected for lab test.
"Though the tiger was around 12 years old, it had lost all its canine teeth, except one, probably due to an in-fighting earlier. The big cat wasn't healthy enough to hunt. Hence, it might have strayed into fringe areas or might have been chased away by a stronger male tiger from its territory," said Badrasamy.
There are around five hamlets of Thoda tribals located within 5km of the spot, where the tiger was found dead. The tribals graze their cattle within the reserve forest area. K Kuppusamy, Nanjanadu panchayat president, told TOI, "As wildlife population is surging in the Nilgiris, people living within the reserve forest area should be more cautious while grazing their cattle."
If circumstance evidences are anything to go by, the tiger might have been poisoned to death, said forest officials. A cow was found killed about 150 metres away from the tiger's carcass. But the animal was reportedly killed by a carnivore at least one-and-a-half-months ago.
"Besides, at least 20 crows were found dead near the carcasses of tiger and cow," said district forest officer (DFO) C Badrasamy.
During a routine patrol, forest watchers found the carcass of the cow in 'Thomund' and that of the tiger just 150 metres away. Besides, at least 20 dead crows were found there. The spot is a reserve forest area in the South division of Nilgiris forests. "Considering the sheer circumstances, we suspect that the big cat was poisoned in the act of revenge killing," said Badrasamy.
According to the official, the tiger, measuring 286cm in length and 84cm tall, might have died at least three days ago. Autopsy was conducted by Dr Vijayaraghavan, veterinarian attached to the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve, in the presence of representatives from National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), local NGOs, local body and forest officials as per the guidelines of NTCA.
"Preliminary autopsy report has revealed that the tiger suffered gastritis and dysfunction of organs. Samples of the carcass have been collected and they would be send for lab test," said the DFO. "Only after the lab test we can be sure of the cause of death," he further said. Also, samples of the carcasses of cow and crows were collected for lab test.
"Though the tiger was around 12 years old, it had lost all its canine teeth, except one, probably due to an in-fighting earlier. The big cat wasn't healthy enough to hunt. Hence, it might have strayed into fringe areas or might have been chased away by a stronger male tiger from its territory," said Badrasamy.
There are around five hamlets of Thoda tribals located within 5km of the spot, where the tiger was found dead. The tribals graze their cattle within the reserve forest area. K Kuppusamy, Nanjanadu panchayat president, told TOI, "As wildlife population is surging in the Nilgiris, people living within the reserve forest area should be more cautious while grazing their cattle."