Death of another tiger sends Telangana forest department into a tizzy

Hyderabad, Jan 9 (IANS) Death of two tigers in three days in the forests of Kumaram Bheem Asifabad district of Telangana has sent the forest department into a tizzy.

Three days after a carcass of a female tiger was found in Daregaon forest under Kagaznagar forest division, another tiger was found dead on Monday.

Forest officials, including veterinarians, have launched an investigation to ascertain the cause of the death.

The spot where the second tiger was found dead is about two km away from the area where the carcass of the tigress was found. This time, a male tiger has been found dead.

The carcass of the tigress, aged around 1.5 years, was found on January 6. The forest officials had said after the investigation that the death was caused by a "territorial fight" between two tigers.

The death of the second tiger has come as a shock for the forest department. Officials were probing the case from all angles including suspected poisoning.

A cattle kill was found near the carcass of the tiger which gives rise to the suspicion of food poisoning. Farmers in the area are said to be unhappy over non-payment of compensation by the forest department for their cattle.

In the first case, the forest officials had found pug marks of two tigers on the spot. They believe that the two tigers fought 5-6 days ago, which resulted in the death of one of them.

They also found marks indicating injuries on the neck and abdomen of the animal and also hair samples in the mouth of the deceased tigress, most probably of another tiger. The hair samples were sent for further investigation.

The forest officials also found the right hind leg of the tigress fractured with sign of dried blood oozed from the injuries.

After the investigations, the officials did not find any evidence of hunting using snares, traps and electrocution. The veterinarians also ruled out any possibility of poisoning. Skin and other parts including nails of the animals were also found to be intact. Based on these observations and investigation, the team found this as a case of territorial fight between tigers.

Kagaznagar forest division is estimated to have eight-10 tigers while four-five big cats keep migrating from Tadoba Tiger Reserve in neighbouring Maharashtra through the Pranahita river