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Tiger found dead in VTR
This is the fourth death of a big cat in VTR since a report released in August 2018 put their number at 32, excluding nine cubs. With the latest death, the number of tigers in the VTR is down to 28.
Forest officials in Bihar’s West Champaran district found a tiger’s carcass in Valmiki Tiger Reserve (VTR) on Wednesday.
This is the fourth death of a big cat in VTR since a report released in August 2018 put their number at 32, excluding nine cubs. With the latest death, the number of tigers in the VTR is down to 28.
“Prima facie, it appears that the death occurred due to the injuries sustained in a fight with other wild animal,” said HK Rai, the wildlife conservator and field director, VTR.
“Viscera will be sent to Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI) at Bareilly and Wildlife Institute of India (WWI) at Dehradun for forensic tests,” Rai said, ruling out the possibility of poaching as the cause of the death.
Incidents of poaching are not unheard of in VTR. In January 2019, forest officials had rescued a wild bear from the trap and later released it in the forest.
In August 2019, a man was arrested with over five kilograms of flesh of deer from a village in VTR. In 2018, a bear was found dead. In 2014-15, two bears were poached in Haranatand forest areas of the tiger reserve.
Spread over 900 square kilometres, VTR is broadly divided into two divisions and has 150-km-long perimeter with 120 villages, It is home to a number of wild animals, including tigers, leopards, bears and rhinoceros.
Past deaths
On February 19, 2021, a tigress captured from VTR after it killed three villagers in West Champaran died at a zoo in Patna.
On January 30, 2021, a tiger’s carcass was recovered in VTR.
On January 1, 2020, a tigress was found dead in the Raghiya forest range of VTR.
