‘No Direct Human Hand in Mass Tiger Deaths,’ Sources After Spot Examination
It is suspected that the tigress might have allowed her cubs to feast on the kill first leading to the deaths of cubs while the tigress feasted on the kill later eventually leading to her death.
Bengaluru: Though a necropsy report on the death of a tigress and her four cubs in Male Mahadeshwara Hills Wildlife Sanctuary of Chamarajanagar district is awaited by forest officials, preliminary investigations by forest officials and wildlife veterinarians find no evidences of direct human hand in poisoning of tigress and her cubs, instead, they gather clues from a dead cow that the tigress fed on an injured part of a cow where medicine was applied for its injury in the hind legs led to the poisoning.
A source, part of the official team to examination the spot of carcasses discovery on Thursday, told Deccan Chronicle on Friday the tigress might have killed a cow and fed on the portion of injured hind legs where medicine was administered after forest officials and wildlife vets examined the area where carcasses were discovered. The dead cow was also found in the vicinity of where tigress and her cubs’ carcasses were discovered in Gajanur beat of Hoogyam range in MM Hills Wildlife Sanctuary.
It is suspected that the tigress might have allowed her cubs to feast on the kill first leading to the deaths of cubs while the tigress feasted on the kill later eventually leading to her death.
“Going by the spot examination, it could be established that there was no deliberate poisoning by humans to kill tigress and her cubs,” the source attributed. The spot examination by forest officials discovered granules of the medicine used in treatment of injured a cow killed by the tigress.
“It looks like cubs died first and later the tigress,” said the source stating that the carcass of tigress was fresh when it was discovered at Gajanur beat of Hoogyam range in Male Mahadeshwara Hills on Thursday at around 12.30 pm.
DCF of Male Mahadeshwara Hills Wildlife Sanctuary Y. Chakrapani, ACF Gajanna Hegde, RFO Madesh along with wildlife vets-Wasim Mirza and Siddaraju came across the kill and upon its examination, vets and forest officials strongly suspect the tigress and her cubs died after feasting on the treated injured cow.
Initially, it was suspected the tigress and her four cubs died after being poisoned by villagers in the vicinity of Hoogyam. There are about 12 villages in the vicinity of Hoogyam range and an estimated 6,000 people reside in these villages.
A villager of Hoogyam said villagers let their cattle graze ‘illegally’ inside the Sanctuary and many times grazing cattle become victims of tiger or leopard attacks but no reports on attacks on humans in MM Hills Wildlife Sanctuary by leopards or tigers.
Meanwhile, Minister of Forest and Environment Eshwar Khandra on Friday inspected the area where carcasses of a tigress and her four cubs were discovered in Gajanur range and assured action against erring persons.