Mystery shrouds tiger death in Nilgiris border
Forest department sources said that the cause of the death of this nearly 10-12-year-old male tiger could not be ascertained immediately.
OOTY: The death of a tiger under mysterious circumstances in the Nilgiris has created a flutter. Foresters took nearly a day to arrange for autopsy and bring a veterinary expert from Kerala for this.
Foresters at Gudalur on the Nilgiris border found the carcass of tiger in the jungle fringes in the Kadasanakolli area in Devarsholai limits near Gudalur on Thursday evening.
They shifted the carcass to the nearby forest campus in Nadugani. However, they could not arrange autopsy till Friday evening as there is no forest veterinarian here for nearly five months or any expert veterinary hand to deal with wild animal deaths. They solicited the help of a forest veterinary expert from nearby Kerala. The autopsy was done on Friday evening by the Kerala veterinarian.
Forest department sources said that the cause of the death of this nearly 10-12-year-old male tiger could not be ascertained immediately. They have collected visceral samples from the carcass for further laboratory analysis.
Mr.B. K. Kumaran, president of the Nilgiris Ecology and Animals Protection Samithi, said that there were reports about injuries near the mouth and legs of the dead tiger. Investigation should be taken up to ascertain if somebody tried to poison the animal or placed a snare to trap it that eventually killed the tiger, Mr Kumaran said.