Bhopal, 11th April 2022: A tiger has been found dead in the Pench Tiger Reserve (PTR) in the Seoni district of Madhya Pradesh. Officials suspect that he was killed by another tiger in a fight for supremacy. This is the fifth death of tigers in Madhya Pradesh in the last fortnight.

PTR Deputy Director Rajnish Kumar Singh said that on Sunday, the forest department patrol found the carcass of a tiger aged about two years in the Kurai range. After investigation, it appears that this tiger was killed in a fight with another adult tiger.

Singh said the attacking tiger ate most of the carcass of the dead tiger and bloodstains were found near the carcass. He said the front legs and teeth of the dead tiger were intact, while the nails along with its tail and hind legs were also found nearby.

The official said that a thorough investigation was carried out with the help of the dog team and no evidence of any suspicious activity was found at the spot.

He said that on April 9, the patrol team had noticed the presence of an adult tiger in the area. It is suspected that he has killed this tiger. The official said the carcass has been disposed of as per the guidelines of the National Tiger Conservation Authority and the viscera has been sent to the laboratory for examination.

One tiger died on March 29. Then another tiger was found dead on April 3 in Lalbarra area of Balaghat district. Besides this, a tiger and a tiger cub were found dead in the Satpura Tiger Reserve in Narmadapuram district on April 2 and 3.

According to the All India Tiger Estimation Report 2018, Madhya Pradesh has 526 tigers which is the highest in any state in the country. Madhya Pradesh has several tiger reserves including Kanha, Bandhavgarh, Pench, Satpura and Panna.