he death of Royal Bengal Tiger (RBT) Mahavir has taken a new turn with the preliminary investigation by a two-member Central team attributing the death to a snare laid by poachers.
The latest report submitted by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) and then Wildlife Institute of India (WII) contradicts their previous report that suggested that the animal died of multiple organ failure.
The previous report also mentioned that the RBT had eaten a porcupine and eight to 10 quills were found in its stomach during the postmortem.
However, the latest report submitted by NTCA IG (Forest) Amit Mallick and WII Senior Scientist K Ramesh to NTCA Director General Anup Nayak revealed that Mahavir sustained the grievous wound on its neck while trying to escape a snare or some other trap laid by poachers to catch wild boars.
The report further stated that the tiger died due to multi-organ failure as the wound got infected and became sepsis.
However, the State Forest Department authorities were yet to comment on the Central team’s report.
Notably, Mahavir, which was translocated from the Kanha Tiger Reserve of Madhya Pradesh, was found dead in the core area of the Satkosia Tiger Reserve in Angul district on November 14.