Madhya Pradesh: Satellite-Collared Tiger Found Dead in MP Reserve

 Bhopal: A satellite-collared male tiger, aged around four years, was found dead in the core area of Nauradehi Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh, a forest officer said on Monday.

The carcass of the tiger was found in the Manegaon Beat of Mohli Range under Nauradehi Tiger Reserve, recently rechristened as Rani Durgavati Tiger Reserve, on February 15, a forest officer of the reserve told this newspaper, unwilling to be quoted.

Prima facie it appears that the death may be caused due to a territorial clash since pug marks of another big cat was found near the carcass, the forest officer said.

He ruled out the possibility of poaching of the tiger, saying that there were no signs to establish the killing of the big cat by the poachers.

However, the exact cause of the death can be ascertained in the postmortem report, he added.

Sources said that the location of the tiger had remained unchanged for two days leading the reserve authorities to dispatch a patrol party to the spot.

The tiger was separated from its mother when it was a cub and later underwent the process of rewilding.

The big cat was translocated to Nauradehi from the Kanha Tiger Reserve on January 18-19 under a reintroduction project.

What shocked and surprised the conservationists was the failure by the authorities to respond promptly when the location of the tiger was found remaining unchanged for a prolonged period.

Wildlife activist Ajey Dubey wrote a letter to the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) as well as the Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (wildlife) of Madhya Pradesh, demanding a probe into the death of the tiger.

“The data from the satellite collar clearly showed the tiger remained stationary for a prolonged period, a red flag under the NTCA protocols. The monitoring team has failed to respond or conduct physical verification, which is mandatory”, the letter said.

Mr. Dubey has blamed the death of the tiger to ‘gross negligence and systemic failure’.