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Gujarat: Tiger found dead fortnight after first sighting

It should be noted that it was almost after three decades that a tiger was spotted in Gujarat, making it the first state to have all the three big cats

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Decomposed body of the tiger which was spotted on February 12
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A body of a tiger was found in a decomposed state in forests of Kantar Village, some 70 km from Godhra and close to Mahisagar, on Tuesday evening. Forest officials in the know confirmed that the body was that of a tiger that was first spotted almost a fortnight ago.

"The body of the tiger was spotted by the field staff that had been tracking the animal since it was found. The body seemed to be around two to three days old. All parts of the animal, including nails, were intact," said an official.

Sources said that since the body was found around 4 to 5 in the evening, post mortem could not be done. "Only the post mortem will reveal the cause of the death," said the official.

Chief wildlife warden Akshay Saxena, when contacted, said he was yet to get complete details in the case. Chief Conservator of Forest, SK Srivastava, said, "No poaching has happened as all the teeth and nails are intact. The reason for death will be known only after lab analysis."

"Since the tiger was first spotted in the area, the department had been carrying out sensitisation programmes with the locals. Overall, the locals seemed to be happy with the presence of tiger as that meant a control over the nilgai nuisance," said a local.

It should be noted that it was almost after three decades that a tiger was spotted in Gujarat, making it the first state to have all the three big cats. The tiger had been first spotted by a local school teacher and later camera traps set up by the department confirmed its presence.

A night vision camera trap set up in the Santrampur range of Mahisagar district had caught the tiger walking past it thus confirming its presence.

The male tiger, believed to be around seven to eight years old, was also nicknamed Mangla Bavo for its propensity not to settle anywhere. The tiger originally belonged to Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh and had travelled over 300 km to reach Mahisagar.

Before the presence of the tiger was confirmed, there were reports of the big cat being sighted in the forest of Mahisagar. The department had also come across pug marks but had not confirmed it. After it was sighted, teh department had carried out a survey of the big kills in the areas in the last two months to know how long the cat could have been roaming the forest of Gujarat. It also suspected that several big kills earlier attributed to the leopard could have been the handiwork of the tiger.

FIRST IN 30 YEARS

On February 12, the state government had confirmed the presence of a tiger, aged 7 to 8 years, after it was captured on a camera trap set up by the officials

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