BENGALURU: The death of a tigress, a mother of two cubs while being captured near Antarsanthe Range of Nagarhole Tiger Reserve, brings to question the darting procedures being followed and whether the state forest department is adhering to the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) guidelines.
A tiger in Bandipur that died on January 13 is reported to have received an overdose. This is not the first time that an animal has died during capture and relocation operations in Karnataka and veterinary experts call for professional experts to deal with wildlife during immobilisation procedures.
Speaking to Express, a veterinary expert with the state forest department said there are well laid out guidelines and procedures but they are not followed at times.
He added, “In many ranges, it is the MR watcher who does the darting and not the doctor who is attached to this reserve. In fact, I have seen many vets who dare not do the darting or venture out to dart the big cats, fearing safety. First of all, animals should not be darted after sunset. However, if it is done, for reasons of safety, it should be done in a closed enclosure and not in an open area. It takes almost 30-45 minutes for the anaesthesia to work and the animal has to be tracked as tigers are fast and can travel a distance of a few kilometers. If this tigress was darted in the night, one would need night vision binoculars to track the animal as it may leap into a water body as the drugs raise its body temperature. This may even result in the tiger drowning because of the anaesthetic’s effect.”
When a tiger is tranquilised using darts, it is tracked with help of fluoroscent tapes on the dart. In the US, radio-tagged darts are used but they are expensive.
Darting procedures
NTCA guidelines clearly define the dosage of tranquiliser. Did the tigress in Nagarhole die of an overdose? Only a postmortem and further lab investigations will reveal this.
A wildlife expert said, “For any immobilisation procedure, two or three vets are needed at the spot. One for darting, one for procedure and another for monitoring vital parameters of the tiger. With one vet, it is not possible to carry out darting operations. They could have called vets from nearby hospitals or even from Mysuru to avoid such an accident.”
Post-darting requisites
The post-darting complications are many if it is not done by a veterinary doctor or if a vet is not present at the spot. The tigress may have died due to this, says another vet.
“Complications post tranquilisation include hyperthermia, hypothermia, increased heart rate, etc. So a professional has to be present to monitor the tiger’s temperature, heart beat, respiration and pulse rate. If it is left to an MR watcher to dart a tiger (either in the thigh or the shoulder part) and if points the dart at the wrong part, it may result in the animal’s death as it has happened often in the state. One mistake and the tiger’s heart may be punctured. A dart that goes ahead or behind the shoulder part may damage vital organs. In Nagarhole-Bandipur, it is Group D staff who dart animals. We have seen several instances where elephants and tigers have been wrongly darted in this region. Even post-darting procedures are handled by forest staff and not doctors.”
No darting of pregnant animals, feeding mothers
Female tigers - pregnant or feeding mothers - should not be darted, said an expert who has carried out immobilisation procedures. “Further, between the first and second darting event, there should be a gap of 30-45 minutes, otherwise, it may result in overdosing. Darting depends on age, body weight, health status and one should not dart feeding mothers, pregnant tigers, old and infirm animals.”