As another tiger dies in Pench Tiger Reserve, toll rises to 5 in 15 days

A tiger, suspected to be killed by another carnivore during a fight, was found dead at Pench Tiger Reserve (PTR) in Madhya Pradesh’s Seoni district. This is the fifth tiger death in the state in a fortnight.

“A forest patrolling team on Sunday spotted the carcass of the tiger, around two years old, in Kurai range,” PTR’s deputy director Rajneesh Kumar Singh said.

“Following an inspection of the spot, it appears the tiger was killed in a fight with another adult tiger,” Singh added.

Singh said that the dead tiger’s front legs and teeth were intact, while its tail and hind legs along with nails were found nearby, as “the attacking carnivore ate most of the carcass.”

Singh also said that there after a thorough investigation by a dog squad, there was no evidence of any suspicious activity at the spot.

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A patrolling team had spotted another adult feline in the area on April 9, which is suspected to have killed the tiger.

So far, four tigers have died in the Seoni district since January this year, including one on March 29. On April 3, a tiger was found dead in Lalbarra area of Balaghat district.

A tiger cub and an adult feline were found dead in Satpura Tiger Reserve of Narmadapuram district on April 2 and April 3.

(With inputs from Agencies)