Forest officials said the tigresses could be aged between four and five years, and could have died two days before their carcasses were found.
According to Forest officials, both the tigress could be aged between four and five years and could have died two days before and there was no sign of a territorial fight because there were no injuries in the carcasses.
Two tigresses were found dead under mysterious circumstances near the Avalanche dam water channel in the Kundha taluk of the Nilgiris district of Tamil Nadu on Saturday, 9 September.
This took the toll of tiger deaths in the area to six within less than a month. Four tigers — including two cubs — were found dead last month.
During routine patrolling on Saturday evening, forest guards found the carcass of a female tiger floating on the river channel beside Emerald Dam. The second tigress was found dead in a slush near the river channel, which was 10 metres away.
On finding the tigresses’ carcasses, the patrol team alerted the higher officials. A team of 20 forest staffers from the Udhagamandalam South and Kundha forest ranges led by District Forest Officer (Nilgiris Division) S Gowtham carried out a combing operation at the Avalanche dam surplus water channel and the attached forest, where the carcasses were found, looking for possible clues to ascertain the reason for the deaths.
According to the forest officials, both tigresses could be aged between four and five years, and could have died two days earlier.
The officials also said that there was no sign of territorial fights because there were no injuries on the carcasses.
“The whole area was divided into grids/circles and searches were carried out for the collection of evidence. Further, the GPS locations and the nearby camera trap recordings will be analysed to check the movements of the tigresses before their death. The footprints of animals or humans and tyre marks of vehicles — if any — will be collected by using Plaster of Paris” a senior forest department official told South First.
“Both big cats appeared to be of the same clan, and they were not melanistic. The reason for the death can be ascertained only after a proper autopsy,” he added.
The officials also said that since the carcasses were found near a water source, samples of the water were also taken to examine if there was any possibility of foul play with the drinking source.
Since the postmortem needed to be conducted in daylight, a team of foresters was posted where the carcasses were found to protect the bodies on Saturday night.
On Sunday morning, a team of veterinarians was called in from the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR) at Theppakadu and the post-mortem examination was conducted by a team headed by K Rajesh Kumar, a veterinarian from the Department of Animal Husbandry, in the presence of a member of an NGO nominated by the chief wildlife warden.
During the postmortem, the team collected samples of visceral content and tissue from both the tigresses.
The officials said that the visceral sample would be sent for forensic analysis and the tissue sample sent for DNA profiling and histopathological tests.
The officials also said that after the postmortem, both the carcasses of the tiger would be disposed of by incineration in the presence of the higher officials and the NGO members, ensuring that the whole carcass — including the bones — was fully burnt. The process of incinerating the carcasses would be video recorded.
Cub carcasses found near Segur forest range. (Supplied)
On 16 and 17 August, two cubs and two adult tigers were found dead in different forest ranges of the Nilgiris.
A seven-year-old adult female tiger was found dead near a tea estate in Mudimandhupirivu on the Naduvattam forest range. The tiger was believed to have been killed after a territorial fight with another big cat.
The estate workers alerted the forest officials, who seized the carcass of the animal and found injuries in the body.
A post-mortem examination of the tiger was done, and the body was disposed of.
A day later, on 17 August, two cubs were found dead near the Segur forest range in the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve. Another tiger’s carcass was also found in the range that day.
As per the official statement, the cubs’ gender could not be identified as they were only a few weeks old, and were abandoned by their mother.
According to the latest tiger census by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) for the year 2022, 306 tigers were recorded to be living in Tamil Nadu.
Of these, 114 tigers were recorded in the Mudhumalai Tiger Reserve in the Nilgiris alone.
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![[Left] File photo of BJP MLA Harish Poonja, who has been booked, and [right] Poonja sitting for a protest in front of Belthangady Police Station in the early hours of Sunday, 19 May, 2024.](https://s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media.thesouthfirst.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Harish-Poonja-and-Belthangady.jpg "Harish Poonja and Belthangady")
