In the first incident reported in South Junewani beat in Deolapar forest range, 75km from here, a young male tiger around four years was found dead near the lake of Umari village in Junewani of Deolapar range.

The dead tiger is said to be KT23, one of the male cubs of famous Baginnala tigress from MP Pench. The death is shrouded in mystery as bodies of half eaten wild boar and a chital have also been found 100 metres from the dead tiger. Wildlife experts suspect electrocution or poisoning might be reason for the tiger's death.

However, Jayoti Banerjee, deputy conservator of forest (DyCF), Nagpur Division, ruled out poaching but said all angles will be probed. All the body parts of the tiger were intact. "I also don't think the tiger was electrocuted. There are no overhead electric lines passing through the spot," she said. However, experts fear how a tiger will die after consuming herbivores. "It may also be possible that the animals must have died elsewhere and dumped at the spot," they said.

The incident had come to light at 3pm on Saturday but was kept under wraps. There are many agriculture fields around the spot. The post-mortem was conducted and the carcass was burned at the same spot.

Banerjee said vital organs of the tiger will be sent for forensic tests to know the exact cause of death. "If any foul play is found, culprits will be booked," she added.

Second incident has been reported from Pench Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh, where a young male tiger fell in an open well, probably while chasing its prey near Simariya village in Vijaypani forest circle of Ghatkohoka range. The spot falls in buffer zone of Pench. The well did not have a boundary wall.

MP Pench field director Subhranjan Sen said the area is an abandoned field. "It seems that tiger made several attempts to come out of the well. There were claw marks all around. Post-mortem revealed that the carcass was 48 hours old. The tiger must have fell in the well on the night of January 1," Sen said.

In another incident, a young leopard was knocked dead by a train near Chimnazari village in Butibori range in Nagpur division. The incident came to light on Sunday morning when some villagers went to the spot.

There are no signs of any injury on the leopard's body but fractures are reported. The forest staff of Nagpur division along with wildlife expert PrafullaBhamburkar, Sindi and Butibori police had also reached the spot.

"These deaths are shocking. The Deolapar tiger death has once again highlighted why mitigation measures were necessary on NH-7. The tiger crossed NH-7 to reach Deolapar range. The deaths also call for better protection to tigers and leopards outside the tiger reserves, especially in the corridors," said KishorRithe, president of Satpuda Foundation.