Machli, the world’s most photographed tigress, has turned 20 this year. The tigress, whom tourists have spotted for years at the Ranthambore Tiger Reserve, has earned the distinction of being the world’s oldest tigress in the wild.
RN Mehrotra, the state’s former chief wildlife warden is of the opinion that her distinctly ‘untiger-like’ behaviour has contributed to her longevity.
All four of her canines are gone now. In order to help her hunt, the forest department makes ‘bait’ available to her. They tie a calf to a tree so that she can kill and eat it, but apparently, she doesn’t kill every day. Machli often eats leftovers from her daughters’ kill – those of them who live in territories adjacent to hers.
Read the Times of India’s story here.
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