CHENNAI: The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) is likely to submit its report pertaining to tiger deaths in Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR) circle in another two days . The team comprising NS Murali, inspector general of forests, NTCA, Bengaluru, Kirupa Shankar, deputy director of Wildlife Crime Control Bureau, Chennai, and Ramesh Krishnamurthy, scientist from the Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, were in the Nilgiris last week for assessing the situation.
Within a span of 40 days, between August and September, carcasses of 10 tigers were found in Mudumalai tiger reserve circle, which comprises Mudumalai tiger reserve and territorial forest divisions of Gudalur and Nilgiris. Out of the 10 tigers, four were adults, of which two died of suspected poisoning and the remaining six were cubs. The age of the six tiger cubs was estimated between two weeks and two months.
The two tiger cubs aged around two weeks were found dead in Siriyur forest area in the buffer area and one adult tiger was found dead in the core area of MTR. The remaining four tiger cubs and three adult tigers were found dead in Nilgiris territorial forest division area.
Forest Minister M Mathiventhan told TNIE on the sidelines of an event in Advanced Institute of Wildlife Conservation, where he inaugurated an international hostel, “We are waiting for the NTCA report. The state forest department has taken all the measures possible. The cause of these deaths are also being investigated.”
Meanwhile, Chief Wildlife Warden Srinivas R Reddy said, “So far, we have not found any foul play. We don’t suspect these deaths were caused by any organised syndicate because poachers don’t leave the carcasses behind. The two male tiger deaths in Udhagai South range of Nilgiris territorial forest division on September 9 were due to poisoning and the accused was arrested.”
To a query, Reddy said there was a general intel alert from NTCA about the movement of an organised poaching gang, but it was not specific. However, Wildlife Crime Control Bureau along with the forest department are checking whether there are any links between tiger killing reported in Gadchiroli circle in Maharashtra in which few members of a gang were arrested and Madhya Pradesh with the deaths in TN.”
He refuted all the allegations being levelled by a few activists. The search for the mothers of the abandoned cubs is still on. “We cannot come to a conclusion that the mothers were poached. In the wild, tigresses do abandon cubs. This is not the first time it has happened. The standard operating procedure was followed in reporting the deaths to NTCA and taking all the necessary follow-up actions.”
Of the 306 tigers, the largest chunk is in Nilgiris from where the maximum causality is being reported. The official said the toxicology and other lab reports are still awaited. “If the mother was poisoned, traces will be found in the toxicology report of the ‘suckling’ cubs, which is still awaited.”