A female tiger was found dead in a private tea estate near Kilkotagiri in the Nilgiris on Saturday. It was tea estate workers near Kengarai village, which falls under the north-east range of forests in Kilkotagiri, who first noticed the carcass of the tigress while they were plucking tea leaves on Saturday. They immediately informed the forest department.
"The big cat, which might have died two days back, should be around 8-9 years old," said C Badrasamy, district forest official. "Preliminary examination of the carcass revealed there was no external injury or any sign of injury due to metal trap. Hence, any foul play is ruled out prima-facie," he said.
Post-mortem operation of the big cat was done by the government veterinarian, Dr Rajan, as per the guidelines of National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) in the presence of a representative of NTCA, NGOs and forest officials.
Preliminary autopsy report revealed that the big cat's lungs had been infected. "Otherwise, other vital parts, including heart, were intact. The tigress might have been suffering from a disease related to lungs," the DFO said. After post-mortem, the carcass was burnt inside the forest area. "Samples of carcass were collected and sent to pathology and forensic labs for test. Only after the test report, the exact cause of death would be known," Badrasamy said.
"The big cat, which might have died two days back, should be around 8-9 years old," said C Badrasamy, district forest official. "Preliminary examination of the carcass revealed there was no external injury or any sign of injury due to metal trap. Hence, any foul play is ruled out prima-facie," he said.
Post-mortem operation of the big cat was done by the government veterinarian, Dr Rajan, as per the guidelines of National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) in the presence of a representative of NTCA, NGOs and forest officials.
Preliminary autopsy report revealed that the big cat's lungs had been infected. "Otherwise, other vital parts, including heart, were intact. The tigress might have been suffering from a disease related to lungs," the DFO said. After post-mortem, the carcass was burnt inside the forest area. "Samples of carcass were collected and sent to pathology and forensic labs for test. Only after the test report, the exact cause of death would be known," Badrasamy said.