Bhopal, Jun 30 (PTI) An adult tiger was killed in Satpura Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh allegedly by poachers who carried away its head, an official said on Friday.
The decomposed headless carcass was found in the core area of the reserve on Monday, said STR Field Director L Krishnamurthy.
“It is certainly a case of poaching. A search for the tiger’s head did not yield any result. Circumstantial evidence suggests it was not poisoned. Water sample of the pond close to where the tiger was found has been sent for tests,” he told PTI.
The body parts have been sent for forensic examination, the official said, adding that the probe into the incident would cover all angles.
Asked if the officials suspect the involvement of alleged international poacher Jaiy Tamang, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) JS Chauhan admitted the former was the biggest smuggler of tiger body parts after Sansar Chand, a notorious poacher accused of wiping out big cats from Sariska.
“We had held Tamang, a Tibetan, earlier (in 2015) from the North-East. We don’t know Tamang’s whereabouts as he crisscrosses international borders,” he said.
According to other officials, the environmental crime wing of Interpol had issued a red-corner notice against Tamang in 2016, while in 2018, the MP forest department sought help from Nepal to catch him in connection with the poaching of a radio- collared tiger in STR and hundreds of pangolins in the state.
Chauhan said they were not suspecting a big gang behind the tiger’s death.
“If professional poachers were behind the killing they would have taken away all the body parts (for sale). Why only the head?. The case appears to have some local connection. I don’t see any organised gang behind it as of now,” Chauhan said.
He added some people believe the use of tiger parts in witchcraft can help bring prosperity.
As per wildlife experts, around Rs 5 lakh is spent annually on monitoring and protecting a tiger in the country. PTI LAL BNM BNM
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.