Tiger found dead with bullet marks in Bandipur

Bengaluru: A tiger was found dead with gunshot wounds in the Maddur forest range of Bandipur Tiger Reserve on Sunday. The male tiger, aged around 10 years, could have been shot by either poachers or villagers, who protect their ginger plantations with muzzle-loading guns against wild boars that frequent the forest area in search of food, forest officials said.

Interestingly, an anti-poaching camp is located at a higher altitude in Dhoni Gallara, just 1-1.5 km from the spot where the tiger’s body was found. The waterhole where the big cat’s body was found was clearly visible to the forest watchers stationed at the camp, said wildlife conservationists who visited the spot.

Forest watchers, who were on their rounds, found the body near an elephant-proof trench near Mukhti Colony, a small tribal settlement, on Sunday morning. “We reached the spot around 10.30 am and shifted the tiger’s body to the animal hospital where the postmortem was conducted that concluded in the evening,” said Mr Hiralal, Director, Bandipur Tiger Reserve. “We did not find any bullets in the tiger’s body. However, samples from the injuries and viscera have been sent for forensics to ascertain the cause of the tiger’s death. Mr Abhilash, Range Forest Officer, Maddur, has registered a case and investigations will be conducted by Assistant Conservator of Forests Poovaiah,” he said.

“There is less probability that the big cat could have been killed by poachers as its nails, teeth and skin were intact. However, there is also a possibility that the poachers could have injured the animal somewhere else and the tiger later died near the waterhole,” a wildlife conservationist said. “There were drag marks from the elephant proof trench abutting a ginger plantation area to the pond where the tiger’s body was found,” he said. Forest officials said that the villagers who use muzzle loaders to defend themselves and their crops from wild boars could have shot the tiger. “It could also be an incident of a human-animal conflict, which we are investigating,” said a senior forest official.

“It looks like an aged tiger, unable to hunt on its own, and came to the periphery of the reserve where it was shot by people whom we suspect to be villagers using muzzle loaders,” said Mr B.J. Hosmath, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife).