Tigress found dead in Kagaznagar forest in Telangana

Hyderabad: A tigress was found dead in Kagaznagar forest in Kumaram Bheem Asifabad district of Telangana due to 'territorial fight' between tigers, forest officials said on Sunday.

On January 6, the forest staff found a carcass of tiger after which the District Forest Officer Niraj T along with officials including two veterinary doctors rushed to the spot for investigation, a release from the office of the Chief Wildlife Warden said.

The tiger was found to be a female aged around 1.5 years. There were marks indicating injuries on the neck and abdomen of the animal and also hair samples in the mouth of the deceased tigress, most probably of another tiger, which have been sent for further investigation, it said.

"The right hind leg was also found to be fractured with signs of dried blood oozed from the injuries. On further investigation, the team did not find any evidence of hunting using snares, traps and electrocution," the officials said.

The veterinarians also ruled out any possibility of poisoning. They said skin and other parts including nails of the animal were also found to be intact.

Based on the observations and investigation, the team found this as case of 'territorial fight' between tigers and, in view of the decomposed body, it was estimated that the death might have occurred at least three-four days before, the official said.

The body of the animal was disposed of as per the protocol under proper documentation, the release added.