Watch: Tiger crushed by earth-mover at Jim Corbett

A video which appeared online on Sunday shows that the tiger who died at the Nainital Zoo on Thursday evening was crushed by a earth-mover at the Jim Corbett reserve in Uttarakhand. 

In the video, the feline is cornered as an earth-mover approaches it, he is then pressed down by the rake as officials run towards it with a net.  

He was tranquillised and then caged after an eight-hour long operation on Thursday, and died during treatment at the Nainital Zoo, Ramnagar Forest Conservator Parag Madhukar Dhakate said.

Two persons, including a woman, were killed by the tiger on Thursday in Bail Padav range of Ramnagar's Terai West forest Division in Nainital district. The big cat had not just killed two persons, but also two tigers earlier as the mating season was approaching and the feline was out to establish its dominance over a territory spread over 10 km, he said.

"As the mating season is approaching, even the slightest human interference angers tigers. It was so aggressive that it even broke the windscreen of the earthmover that was brought to scare it away. Even shots fired in the air failed to deter it," the conservator said.

However, after finally being tranquillised and caged, the feline was brought for treatment of its injuries to the Nainital zoo, where it died late in the evening, he said.

(With PTI inputs)