Tiger found dead in Pilibhit

Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) Rupak De said they had lodged a case under the Wildlife Protection Act,considering the tiger’s death to be a case of poaching.

He said suspects have not yet been identified. “We have initiated combing operations in the forest to find out if any poaching gangs are operating there,” De said.

He added that the exact cause of death was not clear and they were waiting for the toxicological report from the Indian Veterinary Research Institute,Bareilly,where the autopsy of the tiger was conducted.

Forest officials in Pilibhit said they spotted the tiger’s body in the Hardoi branch canal in Puranpur area. A team of officials fished out the body on Sunday morning. No body parts were found missing and there were no visible external injury marks,they said.

Pilibhit Divisional Forest Officer (Social Forestry) Arvind Kumar Singh said the tiger was about 12 years old. It seemed the tiger had died within 24 hours of it being spotted,Singh said.

This is the fourth tiger found dead in the jungles of Terai region under the divisions of Pilibhit and Kheri in the past three months.

The bodies of two tigers were found in Pilibhit forest in May. Within a week,another tiger was found dead in the Kheri forest.

Forest officials had arrested some herdsmen who had allegedly poisoned the tigers in Pilibhit forest to avenge the killing of their cattle. The forest officials had ruled out poaching in Kheri,suspecting that the tiger could have died after a territorial fight with two male tigers.