Two tigers found 'poisoned' on Nilgiris tea estate

UDHAGAMANDALAM: A tigress and a sub-adult tiger were on Tuesday found dead at a private tea estate in Bitherkad range near Nelakottai in Gudalur forest division of the Nilgiris. Forest officials suspect the two had eaten the carcass of a wild boar that had been poisoned. Results of detailed forensic tests are awaited.
Forest officials went to Sussex Tea Estate when they were told the carcass of a sub-adult tiger had been found.They then found the carcass of a tigress in a swampy area within the estate. Forest officials said she might be the mother of the sub-adult.
Officials then spotted the half-eaten carcass of a wild boar 200 metres from the tiger carcasses.
Tiger deaths: Samples from wild boar sent for lab test
Pugmarks of the two tigers were also found near the spot.
"The pugmarks matched those of the dead tigers," said conservator of forests and field director of Mudumalai Tiger Reserve D Venkatesh. "Samples from the boar's stomach, which had rice and tapioca, and its vitals parts have been sent for lab tests," he added.
The postmortem of the two tigers revealed that they had eaten the boar and that they had been poisoned. "We suspect that the wild boar died after eating poisoned food and that the tigers ate the poisoned meat. We are awaiting test results to confirm this," Venkatesh said.
A case has been registered under the Wildlife Protection Act 1972 and an inquiry is on.