Satellite-Collared Tiger Found Dead in MP Reserve
-Bhopal: A male satellite-collared tiger, about four years old, was found dead in the core area of the Nauradehi Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh, a forest officer said on Monday.
The tiger’s carcass was found on February 15 at Manegaon Beat in the Mohli Range under the Nauradehi Tiger Reserve, which was recently renamed the Rani Durgavati Tiger Reserve. A forest official from the reserve told this newspaper that he did not want to be quoted.
The forest officer said prima facie the death might have been caused by a territorial conflict as boxer prints of another big cat were found near the carcass.
He ruled out the possibility of tiger poaching, saying there was no evidence that the big cat was killed by poachers.
However, he added that the exact cause of death can be determined in the autopsy report.
Sources said the tiger’s location did not change for two days, prompting reserve officials to send a patrol team to the area.
The tiger was separated from its mother as a cub and later entered the process of rewilding.
The big cat was transferred from Kanha Tiger Reserve to Nauradehi on January 18-19 as part of the reintroduction project.
What shocked and surprised environmentalists was that the authorities did not take immediate action after the tiger’s location remained unchanged for a long time.
Wildlife activist Ajey Dubey has written a letter to the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) as well as the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (wildlife) of Madhya Pradesh, demanding an investigation into the tiger’s death.
“Data from the satellite collar clearly showed that the tiger remained motionless for an extended period of time, which is a red flag under NTCA protocols. The monitoring team failed to respond or perform the mandatory physical verification,” the letter said.
Mr Dubey blamed the tiger’s death on ‘gross negligence and systemic failure’.
