Umaria (MP), March 18 A tigress died on Wednesday in the Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve (BTR) in Madhya Pradesh, with officials citing illness as the preliminary cause of death.
The deceased tigress was five years old, officials said.
Dr Anupam Sahay, field director of BTR, said that on the evening of March 15, a tigress was reported to be ill near the Banwei Nala revenue area of Beat Damna in the Manpur buffer range.
The big cat was subsequently treated under the guidance of senior officials. After further testing, the tigress was taken to the Baheraha enclosure for treatment, he said.
The tigress was undergoing treatment and continuous monitoring, but died on Wednesday afternoon. The primary cause of death appears to be a disease affecting the liver and spleen. Internal bleeding was also observed, Sahay said.
All the vital organs of the tigress were found to be intact, and samples were collected for laboratory testing, he said.
Senior officials and the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) were immediately informed.
The cremation was conducted in the presence of senior officials and other representatives as per the NTCA guidelines, he said.
According to forest officials, eight tigers have died in the BTR in the past two-and-a-half months, and four of them were electrocuted.
This information was provided in a status report submitted by the Bandhavgarh field director to a division bench of the high court in February in response to a petition alleging the deaths of tigers under suspicious circumstances in the forests of Madhya Pradesh.