VILLAGERS AND CORBETT OFFICIALS TRADE BLAME AS TIGRESS SHOT DEAD
HALDWANI: A tigress was found dead near the Corbett Tiger Reserve in Uttarakhand’s Almora, triggering a blamegame between government officials and local villagers over the killing. The tigress was found dead in the Marchula market area in the buffer zone of the tiger reserve on Monday night, officials said. While the forest department has claimed villagers might have killed the tigress fearing attack, residents claimed the vehicle used by people who allegedly killed it resembled a forest department jeep.
HALDWANI: A tigress was found dead near the Corbett Tiger Reserve in Uttarakhand’s Almora district, triggering a blame game between government officials and local villagers over its killing.
The tigress, believed to be 8 -10 years old, was found dead in the Marchula market area in the buffer zone of the tiger reserve on Monday night, officials said.
While the forest department said that villagers might have killed the tigress fearing an attacked, local residents said that the vehicle used by people who allegedly shot dead the tigress resembled a forest department jeep. “It is matter of investigation who killed the animal and how,” said Corbett National Park director Dheeraj Pandey. “I have asked the Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Kalagarh to conduct a probe.”
On Monday, the tigress was seen in Marchula area, considered a sensitive area for tiger movement from Corbett. “Villagers fired at the animal after it reached the populated area as they were scared,” said a forest official requesting anonymity.
A local resident contested the forest department’s version. “We had informed the forest department about the presence of the tigress following which their team arrived and fired to scare it away . It is suspected that the tiger may have been shot in the same firing,” the resident said requesting anonymity.
Another forest official said, “The post-mortem examination of the animal confirmed bullet injuries.”
A video showed a white fourwheeler approaching the tigress with the barrel of a gun coming out of its window. The tigress then charged towards the vehicle before two shots were fired amid shouts of “maaro, maaro” (kill, kill). HT could not independently verify the authenticity of the video.
Tigers are protected under Schedule one of the Wildlife Protection Act, which provides for punishment of up to six years and a fine of up to 50,000 for killing an animal in a protected area.