NILGIRIS: Another adult tiger has perished in the Nilgiris district in a matter of a few days.
A male tiger, aged about 10 years, was found dead at Segur forest range in Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR) on Sunday morning. On Thursday, another male tiger was found dead at Pykara forest range in the Nilgiris forest division.
An autopsy carried out on the latest victim revealed it could have been killed following a fight with another tiger. Forest sources say the fight could have occurred when one tiger intruded into another’s territory and the dead one lost in the conflict.
Anti-Poaching Watchers noticed the carcass at Gundatti forest beat and informed Segur forest range officer M Dhayanathan. He reached the spot and confirmed that the skin, claws, etc. were intact, ruling out poaching bid.
“We have confirmed that the deceased tiger was killed by another male tiger as there were marks on the entire body and a heavy injury was noted on its head and neck. Considering the blood sample, the infighting could have occurred within 36 hours,” said an MTR staff.
MTR was notified as a tiger reserve in 2007. It is estimated between 145 and 150 tigers are living here.
“We had been tracking this (deceased) male tiger by fixing a unique ID like other tigers as per the National Tiger Conservation Authority’s guidelines,” an official said.
Sources in the Nilgiris forest division said the animal which had died earlier had a stomach ulcer and its intestine was also empty. “We have sent samples of heart and kidney to find out exact cause of the death to SACON in Anaikatti and labs in Coimbatore,” an official said.