BHOPAL: The death of a tiger at Madhya Pradesh’s Panna Tiger Reserve has raised concerns over patrolling lapses, highlighting persistent issues in a reserve where tigers had become locally extinct by 2008–09 due to rampant poaching and mismanagement.
The skeletal remains of the tiger were reportedly spotted by a villager who went to collect Mahua flowers in the Gangau Wildlife Sanctuary of PTR on Tuesday.
The carcass, which had taken the form of skeletal remains, suggested that the decomposed body of the tiger was 20-25 days old, which put a question mark on the effectiveness of the reserve's patrolling teams.
The skeletal remains of the tiger were found around 100-200 meters from the main road in the reserve in the Kataria forest beat.
“The late spotting of the carcass is certainly a cause of concern. The patrolling teams should be more effective and alert in the PTR, particularly as the reserve has had a notorious past of tigers going local extinct by 2008-2009, primarily due to rampant, organized poaching and severe mismanagement,” a former MP forest department official told the TNIE.
The PTR’s field director Brijesh Srivastava, said veterinary and other teams of the reserve rushed to the spot in Gangau Wildlife Sanctuary, immediately after the 20-25 days old decomposed body of the tiger was spotted. “The state tiger strike force (STSF), which is the forest department’s specialised team dealing in wildlife crimes too, is probing the entire matter on the ground. “On the basis of the preliminary reports and findings, we will be able to ascertain the possible cause of the tiger’s death and the dead big cat’s factual identity (its number),” Srivastava said.
Sources forming part of the ongoing investigations told this newspaper that the skeletal remains could be that of a young adult male aged between 3-5 years. “The prime parts of the dead tiger are intact due to which poaching doesn’t seem to be possible. It is most likely a natural death only, but anything concrete can be concluded only on the basis of detailed forensic analysis reports.”
Importantly, tigers became extinct in the Panna Tiger Reserve by 2008-09, primarily due to rampant, organised poaching by Pardhi gangs, particularly from Katni district and severe mismanagement inside the reserve. While a thriving population existed in the early 2000s, specialised poaching networks—including the 'Pardhi' tribe—exploited poor park security, reducing the population to zero.
This is the 20th tiger death reported in the ‘Tiger State’ Madhya Pradesh this year since the first death which was reported on January 7 in the core area of Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve.