BENGALURU: A tigress, aged about five, was found dead in Teguru Gudda limits under Hebbe range in the Bhadra Tiger Reserve on Tuesday. Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) Ajai Misra told TNIE that the carcass was found by forest officials during their regular beat. All its claws and canines were intact and it has been found that the animal died during an infight. The visceral samples have been sent for a detailed analysis.
Tigers are known to protect their territories and fight with other tigers from outside. The tigress may have died three days ago, said Bhadra Tiger project director Takat Singh Ranavath. Since the area is a dense forest, it takes a beat forester 2-3 days to completely perambulate the area. Misra said he found the carcass during his drive. No foul play has been suspected so far. The postmortem was conducted on Wednesday and the carcass burnt as per procedure laid down by the National Tiger Conservation Authority.
Another senior forest official added that poaching cases are in control in this region. However, there are stray cases of jaw traps being found, which have been kept to catch wild boars wandering on the fringes of the forest patches. “The carcass was found on Tuesday morning, but by the time the veterinarian from Shivamogga arrived at the location, it was 6pm. The postmortem was done as per procedures and teeth marks were seen on the carcass.
These marks are normally found when a male tries to dominate over a female for mating and expanding
territory,” the senior forest officer said. This is the second tigress death reported in the last two years. In 2019, a female tiger was found dead 5 km away from the spot where the tigress was found dead on Tuesday. Then also, it was found that the death was due to infight. The official explained that more cases are coming to light as sightings of the carnivore have also improved in the forest patch.