Tiger carcass found in PTR, fourth incident this year

LUCKNOW: Big cats continue to die even as Pilibhit Tiger Reserve (PTR) officials are undertaking a tiger census in the forest.

A partly decomposed carcass of an adult tiger was recovered from Madhotanda area of the forest on Sunday, making it the fourth such incident being reported this year.

“The carcass was found lying near an abandoned rail track in Madhotanda by a team of forest rangers. It has been sent for a post- mortem examination,” said Kailash Parakash, divisional forest officer (DFO), PTR.

The carcass was sent to the Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI), Bareilly for a post-mortem examination. Sources at IVRI claimed that the carcass appeared to be over two weeks old.

“The canines, nails and other parts of the animal are still intact which rules out any possibility of poaching. Prima facie, it appears that the animal died a natural death. However, we are waiting for the post-mortem report to ascertain this,” claimed the DFO.

Meanwhile, the forest department

planned to form a dedicated patrolling team to keep track of the health of tigers in the reserve.

The recent tiger deaths had raised questions on the efficacy of the forest department in safeguarding the big cats.

In January, the carcass of an adult tiger was found in a canal in PTR.

Later in April, another adult tiger was found dead in Madhotanda which, experts claimed,

was killed by a metal snare used by hunters.

In March, the body of another semi-adult tiger was found with heavy parasite infestation.

“The deaths of an adult tiger and a semi adult one in January and March were due to natural causes. The forest department cannot do much in these situations. But our department will continue making efforts to protect every tiger in the reserve,” said the DFO.