An old male tiger, known as 'BTR-63', has died in the Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve, taking the death toll of the big cat in Madhya Pradesh to 21 since last May.
"BTR-63 died in an enclosure where he was being treated on Thursday. He was 12 to 13 years old," said Raman Shrivastava, the Reserve Field Director. The animal had been unwell for the last two years and had been put in the enclosure in November for treatment for injuries.
BTR-63 was a major attraction of the park in the past, Shrivastava said.
Another tiger died at the Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve on April 10 and some activists had alleged that it died because of the overdose of sedative while being tranquilised after it mauled two forest officials.
Forest officials had denied this, saying that it died because of the injuries sustained during a territorial fight with another tiger. The latest death takes the number of tigers which died in Madhya Pradesh forests since May 2015 to 21. A month ago, the National Tiger Conservation Authority had sent its team to the state to investigate the spate of tiger deaths.
IMAGE: A tiger cools off from the summer heat in a pool. Photograph: Rajesh Karkera/Rediff.com
