Forest officials worried over recovery of decomposed big cat carcass
Kolkata: The death of a Royal Bengal tiger whose decomposed carcass was found at Adalamari forest areas of Sunderbans has become a cause of concern for the forest department officials who are leaving no stone unturned for the protection of the big cats.
The officials are yet to ascertain the cause of death of the animal and they are awaiting the postmortem report.
The incident comes as a setback to the forest department officials who are constantly striving to transform Sunderbans into a model of tiger conservation for the rest of the world.
The recovery of the decomposed carcass of a full-grown tiger also becomes a major cause of concern for the forest department.
Senior forest department officials are looking into all possible angles that could have led to the death of the tiger. The forest officials suspect that the tiger might have died 10-15 days ago.
The forest department officials are not ready to buy the theory of poaching as they claimed claws, teeth and skin or any other parts of its body remained intact. They are yet to ascertain if it was a male tiger or a female.
As the animal's body was decomposed, it has become difficult for the forest officials to determine its gender.
It was learnt that a trap, which is generally used for catching deer, was found lying near its body. It makes the forest officials believe that the tiger's death was not natural and there may be some foul play behind the death.
A detailed probe has been ordered by the forest department to find out the actual cause of its death. The autopsy report might throw some light into the death of the animal, said a senior official of the forest department.
It may be mentioned here the last poaching incident in Sunderbans was reported in 2008.
Since then no tigers were killed here. The forest officials are examining the trap that was recovered from the spot. The forest officials may talk to the people who live in the areas near forest and at sometimes venture into the woods to get firewood.
