MP: Decomposed tiger carcass found in Panna

The decomposed carcass of a tiger has been found in Madhya Pradesh's Panna Tiger Reserve, with authorities suspecting the feline died in a territorial fight with another tiger, an official said on Tuesday.

After getting information about the carcass on Monday, a dog squad was sent to the spot in Majholi beat of the Panna Tiger Reserve (PTR), its field director K S Bhadoriya said, adding no evidence of any illegal activity (poaching) was found there.

It appeared that the tiger, which was around four years old, died in a territorial fight three to four back. All the body parts were intact, he said.

At present, there are 39 tigers in PTR, which has the capacity for 30 striped animals, he said.

"There have been incidents of mutual conflict due to the increasing number of tigers in the reserve," he said.

Bhadoriya said after the postmortem, the carcass was disposed of as per guidelines of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA).

Earlier, a tigress was found dead in Mahuamod beat of the Panna Tiger Reserve on June 28.

State BJP chief V D Sharma, who is the Lok Sabha member from Khajuraho constituency, which covers PTR, expressed concern over the death of two tigers in the reserve in the recent past.

"Such incidents will also have a negative impact on tourism. I request the government to take immediate action against those found guilty and ensure such incidents do not happen in future, Sharma said. 

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