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The Gujarat forest department on Wednesday, 27 February, confirmed that the tiger found dead in Mahisagar district on Tuesday, 26 February was the same that was captured on camera around two weeks back – the first sighting of a tiger in the state in three decades.
The department, however, ruled out poaching as the cause of the tiger's death. The carcass of the tiger was found on Tuesday at Kantar village in the forest area of Mahisagar district.
According to the official, the pattern of the tiger's stripes led the post-mortem panel, formed to probe its death, to conclude that it was the same animal that was captured on the camera trap around two weeks back.
Srivastava said the exact cause of its death is yet to be ascertained as no external injury was found on the animal. "We have collected three sets of samples for investigation, which will be sent to Gujarat Forensic Sciences Laboratory in Gandhinagar, Anand Veterinary Hospital and LaCONES in Hyderabad for examination," he said.
The post-mortem panel comprises senior forest department officials, a representative of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NCTA), veterinary doctors, and district representative of the Animal Welfare Board of India, Srivastava said.
"The carcass was burnt as per the protocol of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) in the presence of a panel, villagers and mediapersons," he added.
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