Death of Karnataka’s famous tiger Prince to be re-examined
A reinvestigation has been ordered into the death of Prince or T-222, Karnataka’s most famous tiger, whose carcass was found earlier this month under mysterious circumstances.
The Karnataka forest department was forced to take the step after conservationists, alleging that the animal had fallen prey to poachers, pointed out several loopholes in the previous investigation and threatened to launch an indefinite protest.
The controversy has erupted at a time when the department is trying hard to come up with an explanation for a string of tiger deaths. Of the 19 tigers that died in the first 65 days of this year in India, nine were from Karnataka, the highest in the country.
In a memorandum submitted last week to the state’s principal chief conservator of forests (PCCF), KS Sugara, prominent wildlife activists pointed out that the Prince’s snout, with canines missing, was found severed at least 200 feet from the spot where the rest of the body was found.
“The officials said that the snout could have been ripped off by scavengers such as boars or vultures. But these scavengers would typically go for the meaty parts of the dead animal…why the snout? And why are the teeth missing?” activist and lawyer Santosh Narayan asked.
“We have been receiving ridiculous explanations from the officials. At one point, they said that Prince died because of a crude bomb explosion,” he said.
Noting that the body of the 12-year-old tiger was burnt soon after being found, noted wildlife photographer and tiger enthusiast Shamanth Krishnamurthy alleged that officials have been playing truant ever since the news of the death broke out.
Initially, they claimed that the carcass belonged to another tiger. Confirmation that it was indeed Prince came only after independent experts matched stripes from stock photographs of Prince with that of the dead tiger and found a perfect match, Krishnamurthy said.
Reacting to the allegations, PCCF Sugara said the post mortem points to a natural death. “These activists are mostly amateurs who don’t know much about these things. Poachers go for the pelt, bones and the reproductive organs...”
He said that the department was “100%” committed to protecting its wildlife. “Despite lack of scientific proof to establish poaching, we have ordered a fresh enquiry,” he said. “Karnataka was one of the biggest success stories in tiger conservation. Things are slipping very rapidly,” Narayan said.
The state had the highest number of tigers in the 2015 census and boasted an impressive 35% spike in numbers between 2010 and 2015.
Two more poachers were killed in Assam by forest department guards on Monday night amid an ongoing debate on the stringent measures adopted to prevent poaching of endangered species in the country.
The incident occured at Rajiv Gandhi Orang National Park (RGONP), located 150km west from state capital Guwahati.
According to forest department officials, a team of guards were on routine patrol when they encountered a group of poachers around midnight near the Baghmari forest camp.
The department claims the poachers fired first following which there was an exchange.
“The identities of the poachers, who were armed with 303 rifles, are yet to be ascertained. But from their facial features, they appear to be from outside the state,” principal chief conservator of forests (wildlife) Bikash Brahma told HT.
A debate has been raging over the measures used by the government to curb poaching.
Survival International, an NGO working for rights of tribal people, had last month urged 131 tour operators in 10 countries to boycott Kaziranga “till the park stops shooting people on sight”.