Forest officials drew flak for disposing carcass of tiger in Asifabad

Forest officials were criticised by environmentalists for failing to follow the standard operation procedure (SOP) set by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) while dealing with the tiger mortalit

Kumram Bheem Asifabad: Forest officials are drawing flak for disposing of the body of a female tiger found dead in Kagaznagar forest division on Saturday, allegedly in a secretive manner. The one-and-half-year old tigress died, reportedly after a territorial fight with another tiger as per Forest officials.

The officials allegedly conducted the incineration of the carcass in a hush-hush manner and did not allow the media to take photographs of the carcass, raising the eyebrows of many. They were criticised by environmentalists for failing to follow the standard operation procedure (SOP) set by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) while dealing with the tiger mortality.

---

As per the SOP, the carcass should be disposed of in presence of a field director or authorised officer not below rank of deputy conservator of forests, besides the post-mortem team having representation from the civil society institution. The sequence of the incineration must be photographed and video-recorded. But, the incineration was reportedly held secretly without representation of the civil society body.

The officials ruled out poisoning even before receiving the post-mortem report. The post-mortem team should collect samples of food from intestines. The samples are analysed in a lab to establish whether the food samples contain traces of poison. Incidentally, a cattle kill occurred about five metres from the spot of the death. However, none claimed the cattle so far.

According to a statement issued by Chief Wildlife Warden Mohan Chandra Pargaien, the tiger died three to four days back. Animal trackers and forest officials are patrolling the forests to track movement of the tigers every day. However, they failed to notice the carcass on the same day of the incident. They reportedly visited the spot only after locals complained of foul smell from the spot.

Environmentalists point out as to why the mother of the cub did not come to the rescue of the tigress. They reasoned that the cubs aged below one and half years are always accompanied by their mothers. They demanded a committee should be formed to ascertain the cause of the death reported in the area for the first time in recent history.

– 17 tigers have gone missing from forests in erstwhile Adilabad district since 2013

– Three of them were the cubs of the famous Phalguna

– Four of these missing tigers were poached

– Whereabouts of remaining tigers not yet known

– Most of them suspected to have been electrified