Chamarajanagar: Two old and weak male tigers which were unable to fend for themselves in the wild, were found dead in Bandipur and Nagarahole tiger reserves on Friday while a tusker succumbed to injuries it sustained in a fight with another tusker in Kallahalla range of Nagarahole National Park.
A male tiger (12) was spotted in a weak state at Gopalaswamy Betta range of Bandipur a couple of days back. Forest officials initially thought the tiger might have been injured in a territorial fight and launched a search in the area to tranquilise it for treatment but it was found dead by them Friday afternoon, said Conservator of Forests and Director of Bandipur National Park, Ambady Madhav.
A preliminary investigation into the cause of death pointed to natural causes, added Mr Madhav. Later, the carcass of the tiger was burnt as per Stand Operating Procedure laid down by National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA).
At Nagarahole, a male tiger aged around 10 years was found dead by patrolling staff at Kallahalla range on Thursday evening. According to park officials, it might have died of starvation. Assistant Conservator of Forest Prasanna Kumar said the necropsy on the carcass revealed that the tiger had not eaten for a couple of days since it was weak because of old age. This tiger had also sustained injuries in a territorial fight. In another case in Kallahalla range, a tusker aged 35, was found dead on Friday. Park officials noticed injuries on the carcass and suspect that the death might be due to a fight with another tusker.
