Tiger found dead in Valmiki Reserve in Bihar’s West Champaran district
Forest officials said prima facie it appeared that the death occurred due to the injuries sustained in a territorial fight with another big cat
The forest officials in Bihar’s West Champaran found a tiger lying dead in the forest of Valmiki Tiger Reserve (VTR) on Sunday evening in yet another incident of territorial fight rampant in the forest.
The carcass of the big cat was recovered from compartment number 55 of Maguraha forest range of Valmiki Tiger Reserve (VTR), located in West Champaran district, officials said.
“Prima facie, it appeared that the death occurred due to the injuries sustained in a fight with other big cat in the forest. The big cat looks to be 7–8-year-old. However, the age and exact cause of death would be known after postmortem,” said Dr. Neshamani K, wild conservator and field director of VTR.
“Viscera will be sent to the Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI), Bareilly, and the Wildlife Institute of India (WWI) at Dehradun for forensic testing,” said Dr Neshamani, ruling out the possibility of poaching as the cause of the death.
The tiger is suspected to have received multiple injuries.
However, another official said, “We are investigating into the death from all the possible angles which include death due to poaching, fight with other animals and diseases.”
On January 31, 2021, a tiger’s carcass was recovered near Sirisiya forest area under Gobardhana forest range of VTR in West Champaran district, which was allegedly killed in territorial fight.
Earlier, a tigress was found dead in Raghiya forest area, near Ghodaghat village, in division one area of VTR on December 31, 2019. This was also attributed by officials to the fight between two big cats over territorial fight.