RAIPUR: The suspected poisoning of a tiger in Guru Ghasidas National Park in Chhattisgarh on Friday – the second tiger death here in two years — has rung the alarm bells at a time when there is controversy over the delay in designating the park as a tiger reserve.
The demise is also mired in conflicting reports about missing parts of the carcass.
Principal chief conservator of forest (PCCF) V Sreenivasa Rao said, “We got information around 3.30pm on Friday and immediately sent a team, including the CCF, to the spot. We also sent sniffer dogs to the spot to help the forest team find the poachers. The postmortem was on Saturday and prima facie it looked like the tiger has been poisoned.”
Officers found a wound in the tiger’s back, as if some animals had tried to feed on the carcass, Rao added. “All the organs of the tiger were intact,” he said.
According to sources, the carcass was found on the banks of Khankopar River along the route to Devsil village, which comes under Sonhat range in Koriya Forest Division, around 350km from Raipur. The level of decomposition indicated that it died two to three days prior, said sources. It’s estimated to be around seven years old.
‘Conflicting Reports’
Despite the forest department’s assertion that the tiger’s carcass was intact, barring the wound on its back, there were conflicting reports suggesting that its eyes, teeth and claws were missing.
The tiger is yet to be identified. It likely came over from Sanjay National Park, but this awaits confirmation from Wildlife Institute of India. Representatives from National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) and Wildlife Trust of India are part of the investigating team.
The carcass was found at the same location where the previous tiger poaching took place in June 2022. Poisoning was suspected then, too. A half-eaten buffalo lay nearby and it was believed to be a revenge killing.
Proceedings over delayed reserve notification
This latest tiger death coincides with legal proceedings regarding the delayed notification of Guru Ghasidas National Park as a tiger reserve. On Nov 6, Chhattisgarh govt submitted an affidavit to the high court committing to issue the necessary notification within a week.
Situated on Chhattisgarh’s northern boundaries, adjacent to Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand, this prospective reserve forms part of the Central Indian Highlands’ tiger corridor. The 1,440-sqkm park hosts diverse wildlife, including tigers, leopards, elephants, sloth bears and various deer species.
PCCF V Sreenivasa Rao said that Chhattisgarh’s forests, with abundant water resources and dense vegetation, provide suitable conditions for wildlife, particularly tigers.
The increasing tiger population is attributed to these favourable conditions. The park’s connection to Sanjay National Park presents challenges for wildlife adapting to new territories.
The proposed Tiger Reserve will encompass both Guru Ghasidas National Park and Tamor Pingla Wildlife Sanctuary, adjacent areas notable for their biodiversity and significance in tiger conservation.
Admin failing to prevent poaching: Activists
Wildlife activists are concerned about tiger death within a fortnight of four elephants dying in Chhattisgarh. “The poaching of rare tigers and elephants is ongoing in Chhattisgarh, and urgent steps must be taken to stop it. It is regrettable that the forest department is failing to prevent poaching in the proposed Ghasidas Tiger Reserve,” said wildlife activist Ajay Shankar Dubey.
In previous incidents, a tigress died in a Bilaspur zoo in April 2022 after a confrontation with a male tiger, and in Nov last year, the carcass of a tiger cub was found in a forest area adjoining Achanakmar Tiger Reserve in Mungeli district.
Another tiger was found dead in Bhoramdeo Wildlife Sanctuary in Kabirdham district in Nov 2020.