An adult tiger monitored through a satellite radio-collar was found electrocuted and de-skinned in Satna district of Madhya Pradesh on Monday. Some suspects have been rounded up and a few claws of the tiger have been found, according to sources.
The big cat was part of the Heera-Panna duo, who used to live in Akola buffer range of Panna Tiger Reserve (PTR). Originally, a triplet, the pair had lost their sister to a road mishap last year in Akola range.
The second tiger – Panna — is safe and inside the PTR, said the reserve management.
Moreover, the last signals emanating from the radio collar put around the neck of the striped cat was received by conservators on October 13 and a hunt was later launched to trace the missing tiger, which had ventured out of PTR, a normal phenomenon among big cats, a senior forest officer said.
The carcass, which had decomposed and was de-skinned supposedly by those who killed the big feline, was found dumped in a farm in Singhpur forest range in Satna district on Monday. The villagers had spotted the carcass and informed the forest officials.
Locals said the tiger died after being trapped in a live electric wire. Top officers, who were on the spot, did not divulge much details.
The spot where the carcass was found is around 25 km from the October 13 location, the forest department said.
PTR director Uttam Kumar Sharma told News18.com over phone that normally it takes 4-5 days to receive signals from the radio collar and then the ground staff is mobilised in case the gap stretches further.
Sharma also added that when exactly the tiger was killed will only emerge in the probe.
An officer from Satna forest department requesting anonymity said three-four locals have been nabbed in the matter and some of the claws of the big cat have been recovered from a pond. The big cat might have been killed on October 14 or 15 and as the radio collar was dumped in water it only emanated signals when the carcass bounced to water surface on October 28, the officer said adding livewire trap too has been recovered by the forest department.
The NTCS figure show 32 tigers died this year with forest officers confiscating tiger organs in two other cases.
Moreover, out of 31 mortalities in the calendar year, 15 died out of tiger reserves that is protected areas, underlining conservation efforts in general forest areas, a wildlife activist said on condition of not be named in the story.
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