Tiger dies in Madhya Pradesh's Satpura Reserve; territorial fight suspected

Narmadapuram: A tiger has been found dead in the Satpura Tiger Reserve (STR) in Madhya Pradesh's Narmadapuram district, with officials suspecting the feline died following a territorial fight.

Tiger T-66, aged 11-12 years, was found dead in the Lagda beat of the reserve by a patrolling team on Tuesday following which it reported the matter to higher authorities, an official said on Wednesday.

During an inspection of the site by forest personnel and veterinarians, no sign of poaching was found and all body parts of the big cat were intact, STR Deputy Director Rishibha Singh Netam said.

"Prima facie, the cause of the death was found to be territorial fight with some other tiger in the area," the official said.

The viscera of the feline was sealed as per the protocol for forensic investigations, the official said.

After an autopsy conducted in the presence of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) representatives, the carcass was disposed of as per the rules, Netam added.

Madhya Pradesh has nine tiger reserves, including Kanha, Bandhavgarh, Satpura, Pench and Panna.

As per the 'Status of Tigers: Co-predators & Prey in India-2022' report, released by the NTCA and Wildlife Institute of India (latest census), Madhya Pradesh was home to the highest number of tigers in the country at 785, followed by Karnataka (563) and Uttarakhand (560).