The tiger had hit the headlines for travelling a record 280 km from Bandipur to Esoor (Gama) village in Shikaripur.
But the animal has been found dead three months after being captured, radio-tagged and released back into the wilderness in May. Its death has been attributed to a territorial feud with a fellow tiger.
B K Singh, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests - who confirmed the tiger's death in Mutthodi last week - said the post-mortem had revealed that it had died after suffering serious injuries in a territorial fight.
“The tiger suffered multiple fractures on both its forelegs and hind legs. It also sustained claw and canine injuries on the neck and other parts of the body. During the fight, both the animals have rubbed against each other. Since the ground is wet due to monsoon, we could see a lot of pug marks," he explained. He said the post-mortem report had revealed that the tiger was healthy and able to hunt before it died.
A wildlife expert confirmed that the dead animal had been matched with the picture of the one released into the wild.
Top wildlife biologists confirmed that it was the same three-year-old tiger that had perplexed scientists by travelling 280 km from Bandipur and had strayed into Esoor village. Read the full report here.
Source: Subhash Chandra N S, Deccan Herald, Bangalore.
