COIMBATORE: A postmortem carried out on Saturday on a tigress aged 6-7 years revealed that it died due to an alleged parasitic infection at Theppakkadu forest range in MTR.
The examination was carried out by veterinary assistant surgeons K Rajesh Kumar Theppakkadu and Indhuja of Masinagudi in the presence of field director R Kirubashankar and members of NGOs and was burnt as per the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA).
Forest sources said the animal could have died four days ago and the animal's skin and nails etc are intact. “There is no suspicion in its death, including poisoning, as there were no external injuries and the incident occurred within the forest. In our preliminary investigation, we have found that the big cat stomach had parasitic nodules in the digestive tract. We can ascertain the exact cause of death after lab results come in. Samples of the internal organs will be sent to the AIWC, Coimbatore,” a forest department official said.