Tiger kills tigress in Madhya Pradesh’s Kanha reserve

This is the second big cat death in the state within 12 hours.

Updated on: Jan 14, 2018, 21:38:33 IST

Hindustan Times, Bhopal | By Neeraj Santoshi

Prefer HTon Google

Share via

Copy link

A tigress has been killed ostensibly by a tiger in Madhya Pradesh’s Kanha Tiger reserve, marking the second big cat death within 12 hours in the state which has a high feline mortality rate.

Forest officials recovered half eaten carcass of a tigress from Kisli range of Madhya Pradesh’s Kanha Tiger reserve on Saturday evening. (HT file photo for representational purpose only)

Deputy director of the tiger reserve KS Bhadoriya said the half eaten carcass of the tigress named Budbudi ( T-83) was found on Saturday evening in Kisli range.

After seeing the injury marks and as the carcass was found in the area dominated by a male tiger named Sangam (T-56), forest officials suspect him as the killer.

Sangam either attacked the victim to reaffirm his dominance over the area or because his advances were spurned by Budbudi, officials suspect. They said such killing is not uncommon.

Vijayarajan Muthu, tiger enthusiast and one of the key members in Tigers of Kanha group on Facebook posted, “Budbudi female, the Grand matriarch of Kisli is no more !...Initial reports strongly suggest she was apparently killed and also partially eaten by Sangam Male T-56..”

Meanwhile, badly decomposed carcass of another tiger was found on Saturday in Keolari range of south Seoni, with its paws missing, making it a suspected case of poaching.

Seoni South district forest officer (DFO) PS Sulya confirming the recovery said investigation was on to ascertain the cause of the death.

Last year MP recorded over one-fourth of the total tiger deaths in the country. According to National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) data of the 98 tiger deaths reported in the country in 2017, 26 were from MP.

Already three tiger deaths have been reported from the state this year.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Neeraj Santoshi
Neeraj Santoshi is the Chief of Bureau for Hindustan Times in Uttarakhand, where he leads the state reporting team while covering government, politics, environment, wildlife, Uttarakhand High Court, and issues shaping the Himalayan region. With more than two decades in journalism across conflict zones, he has covered politically sensitive regions and environmentally fragile landscapes, and focused on stories that combine public interest with in-depth storytelling. An alumnus of Pune University with a Master’s in Communication Studies, he has reported extensively from Jammu & Kashmir (2003-2010), Madhya Pradesh (2010 to 2018 ) and Uttarakhand (Since 2018), covering subjects ranging from insurgency, elections and governance to wildlife conservation, mining, climate change, agriculture, human rights and social justice. He has covered politics and legislative assemblies of both Jammu & Kashmir and Madhya Pradesh over more than a decade. Before taking over as Chief of Bureau in Uttarakhand, he served as Special Correspondent with Hindustan Times in Madhya Pradesh and earlier reported for both Hindustan Times and The Indian Express in Jammu & Kashmir, where he covered state politics, environment and insurgency-related developments. Over the years, his stories have focused on environmental degradation, wildlife, illegal mining, governance and the changing social fabric of Himalayan states and Central India. He is particularly interested in long-form explanatory journalism, and stories that explore the intersection of ecology, conservation, governance and society. Outside the newsroom, Neeraj enjoys reading widely on neuroscience, consciousness studies, Artificial Intelligence and quantum physics, with a special interest in Kashmiri Tantric Shaivist traditions. He is also passionate about wildlife, mountaineering and the Himalayas, interests that continue to inform his reporting and deepen his understanding of the region he covers.Read More

Get the latest India News, breaking headlines and real-time updates from across the country. Stay informed about politics, government policies, crime, weather and major national developments.