KURNOOL: A High-Level Committee constituted by the Andhra Pradesh Government has concluded that the recent death of a female tiger in the Nagarjunasagar-Srisailam Tiger Reserve (NSTR) was caused by severe injuries sustained during an attempted attack on a porcupine, which gradually led to ill health and death.
The committee headed by P Mallikarjuna Rao, Advisor to the AP forest department, ruled out any foul play or poaching, providing a major breakthrough in the investigation into the suspected tiger death, said NSTR deputy director of Atmakur division Vignesh Appavu.
In a press statement on Thursday, the DD said that the committee visited the Atmakur Project Tiger Division on August 4 following a Government Order issued by the Environment and Forest Department.
Vignesh Appavu added that intensive camera trap monitoring carried out by the Atmakur Project Tiger Division captured images of tigress T-66F on July 20, 21 and 22 showing multiple porcupine quills embedded in different parts of its body. Based on these scientific records, the committee concluded that the tigress was seriously injured while attempting to hunt a porcupine.
The injuries gradually weakened the animal, ultimately resulting in its death. The committee also dismissed the allegations claiming that the tigress was pregnant or that her cubs had disappeared.
It further confirmed that all organs of the animal were intact and that there were no signs of poisoning, poaching or any other malicious human intervention.
The committee conducted a detailed examination of the location where the tigress was found dead.
