The recent death of tigers in the Nilgiris could not have been due to organised poaching, said Chief Wildlife Warden Srinivas R. Reddy on Monday.
Ten tigers, including six cubs, were found dead in the Nilgiris from mid-August to mid-September. While at least one was due to poisoning of cattle carcass, infighting was suspected in two other cases. The high number of deaths in an unusually short interval raised questions on poachers’ involvement.
However, Mr. Reddy said no evidence was found to link some of the deaths to poaching, but the Forest Department was actively pursuing the cases. Referring to the death of two tigers in Udhagai South Range near Avalanche on September 9, Mr. Reddy said both the tigers had injury marks. If it was poaching, he asked: “Why did they leave the carcass with claws, skin intact?”
Mr. Reddy further said possible involvement of a poaching network caught in Gadchiroli, Maharashtra, in September was also being looked into.
A three-member team comprising officials National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), Bangalore, Wildlife Crime Control Bureau, Chennai, and the Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun inspected the sites in Nilgiris on September 25. The findings are expected to be released this week.
Forests Minister M. Mathiventhan said the department was waiting for the report to get a clear picture of the reasons for the tiger deaths. When asked if it could be a case of poaching, the Minister said: “One year ago, there was a case of poaching and department officials skilfully caught the perpetrators. Patrolling is being done continuously. Now, in this case, we have inspected and there could be many reasons such as territorial fights. Based on the NTCA report, we will take appropriate action.”
