Tiger in Mahadayi Wildlife Sanctuary gets succumbed to poisoning; Concerned Goa CM orders immediate inquiry

Panaji, January 07: Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Monday ordered a thorough probe into the death of a tiger inside the Mahadayi Wildlife Sanctuary. This is after a preliminary inquiry earlier revealed the big cat succumbed to poisoning.

 

"CM Sawant is deeply concerened by the death of a tiger in the Mahadayi Wildlife Sanctuary in Sattari taluka of North Goa. The preliminary investigation has revealed poisoning as the cause of death. Therefore, Sawant has ordered a thorough inquiry in the matter," the CMO said in its official statement.

 

 

The carcass of the tiger was foundinside the sanctuaryon Sunday. The carcass, which was four to five days old and was hidden under the sand, was found near Thane-Dongurli village panchayat after which villagers alerted forest staff, according to the officials. "A case has been registered against unidentified persons under the Wildlife Protection Act", they said. A similar incident had taken place in 2009 which had led to the arrest of several people from Keri, also in Sattari taluka, on the charge of killing a tiger and hiding evidence.

"A charge-sheet was filed in that case and the trial is underway. The villagers at the time had accused forest officials of harassing them. The spot where the carcass was found on Sunday is under close surveillance because presence of a big cat and her cubs was revealed during a census", Goan environmentalist Rajendra Kekar added to the statement.

 

 

Death of tigers in India has always been a matter of concern since a couple of decades. Indian tigers have been in the crosshair for centuries and every time there's a news of a tiger death, it is estimated to be the last incident. The reason behind such expectation is the continuous efforts of the tiger conservation like Save Tiger, Project Tiger and WWF who work round the clock to preserve the endangered species.

 

However, a recent response to National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) states, India has lost 51 tigers in territorial fight, poaching or electrocution in the first five months, till May 29, 2019. On average, the country has lost 10 tigers every month which is half of a total of 102 tigers that were killed in the year 2018.