Wild animal, suspected to be a tiger, electrocuted in Telangana’s Asifabad

Decomposed carcass of a large wild animal was exhumed from revenue land of Yellur village in Penchikalpet range

Kumram Bheem Asifabad: Officials have exhumed the carcass of a tiger, which was reportedly killed due to electrocution, on the outksirts of Yellur village in the Penchikalpet mandal on Friday. The tiger or a leopard could have been electrocuted on Thursday, it is believed.

Forest officials said the decomposed carcass of a large wild animal was exhumed from revenue land of Yellur village in Penchikalpet range. They acted on information received on Thursday that a wild animal was electrocuted and its carcass was buried. Identification of the animal is yet to be done.

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The body was burnt totally possiblly due to electrocution. As a result, the animal was not identified, stated the officials. But going by the preliminary examinations, it appeared to be a tiger and if this turns out right, it would be the third tiger to have died in the district in a gap of 17 months if suspicion of locals locals was proved to be true.

The officials further said that it was yet to be ascertained whether the tiger died after touching an electric fence or an electrified trap set by poachers to hunt wild animals. Samples of the fur and other parts were sent to a lab for establishing the identity, age and gender of the animal. A case was registered and investigations were taken up. More details would be briefed to the media on Saturday.

In January, 2024, carcasses of two tigers named S15 and K15 were found in the forests of Darigaon village in Kagaznagar mandal in a gap of two days. Initially, the forest officials suspected that the cause of death of the first tiger could be a territorial fight. However, it was later discovered that the second tiger was poisoned and culprits were subsequently arrested.

Meanwhile, locals and environmentalists suspected that the carcass might be of a female tiger named K8, residing in the forests of the range for quite a long time. K8 was an offspring of Phalguna’s second litter. It was aged above 5 years. It was inhabiting the wild without harming humans unlike its predecessor A2 which killed two people in a gap of a month in 2020.