UDHAGAMANDALAM: A tigress was found dead in the Mudumalali Tiger Reserve (MTR) in the Nilgiris, raising concerns again about the high number of deaths of big cats in Tamil Nadu. This is the second tiger reported dead in MTR and the fifth in the Nilgiris forests in the past six months. With the latest tiger death in MTR, the total number of deaths of big cats in Tamil Nadu this year has gone up to nine. The tigress, estimated to be nine years, was found dead inside a bush in the MTR, 50 km from Ooty. Forest staff found the carcass while they were on a routine patrol on Monday evening.

The body of the animal was found in a slightly decomposed state. "The animal could have been dead for at least five days," said D Chandran, Deputy Director, MTR and Mukurthi National Park. Chandran said the animal's body parts, like teeth, nail and skin, normally removed by poachers, were found in tact. The autopsy of the animal was conducted inside the forest on Tuesday as per conservation guidelines in the presence of forest officials, representatives of National Tiger Conservation Authority, and representatives of local NGOs.

Forest veterinarian N Manoharan, who did the postmortem examination of the animal, said, "We found an internal injury and related complications. The animal could have sustained the injury due to a fall from an elevated spot and that could have killed it." Samples of the carcass were collected by officials and sent to a lab for testing. Later, the carcass was burnt inside the forest.

In MTR, which extends over an area of 321 sq km, tigers are thriving due to effective conservation initiatives and policing. It is home to more than 75 tigers. As tigers are aggressively territorial animals, they control and guard prime areas with high density prey base. Based on locality and prey density, the size of tiger territories vary.

Some of the deaths in Tamil Nadu forests were due to natural causes while at least three were due to poisoning. Autopsy reports are awaited in three cases. However, forest officials are of the view that poaching or poisoning by villagers doesn't account for a majority of the deaths. "We record and publicize the deaths of these big cats but not their births. In the past few years, their birth rates have been encouraging. The infighting over prey or territory is only an indication that their population has increased," said a senior forest official.