Four persons were sent to jail on Tuesday for poisoning an adult tiger which was found dead in the Guru Ghasidas National Park, a new tiger reserve, in Chhattisgarh’s Korea district. One accused is at large.
The four are Prem Sai (63), Buddheshwar (35), Rambadan (39) and Sumersai, all from Salgawa Khurd village in Korea, park Director Ranganadha Ramkrishna Y said on Tuesday.
The carcass of the male tiger, aged 7-8 years, was found on Monday morning near Salgawa Khurd village in the Ramgarh forest range, he said.
A Forest Department team rushed to the spot after getting information about the death of the wild animal on Sunday evening, he said.
Preliminary investigation suggests that the tiger died after consuming the poisoned carcass of a buffalo, the officer said.
The exact cause of death of the tiger will be known after the autopsy report comes in.
A half-eaten carcass of a buffalo was found near the dead tiger.
Prima facie it seems that some locals poisoned the buffalo’s carcass to target the wild animal which hunted the buffalo on Friday, the park chief said.
Four suspects were taken into custody for poisoning the feline.