Bengaluru: Big cat killed in road accident in Bandipur National Park

Chamarajanagar: A four year old tigress was found dead after being hit by an unknown vehicle probably in the early hours of Saturday on the edge of Melukammanahalli check-post, close to Jungle Lodge outside Bandipur National Park on Saturday morning and the necropsy indicates the tigress died from multiple injuries around its neck and its shoulders.

The last time, a tiger was killed in a road mishap was in Moolehole range of the Park in 2003 while a leopard was a victim of road kill also in Moolehole a couple of years back.

Veterinarian Nagaraj, who performed the necropsy on the carcass of the tigress said that when the carcass was opened he found a neck muscle tear, damaged cervical bones, and that the capula tip on the shoulder of the tigress was shattered which all indicates that the tigress had fallen victim to a road kill.

To back the claim that the tigress was knocked down by a unknown vehicle, Nagaraj found that the stomach of the tigress was empty.

He told Deccan Chronicle: " since the stomach was empty I am ruling out foul play such as poisoning of the big cat by villagers."

When the carcass was found by forest officials before necropsy was conducted, Nagaraj observed blood had oozed out of tigress nose and mouth.