Tiger drowns in UP canal; NTCA to decide action after autopsy

Tiger drowns in UP canal; NTCA to decide action after autopsy

Published: Mon, 09 Feb 2009 at 20:16 IST

New Delhi, Feb 9 : Uttar Pradesh seems to be losing its rare big cats to a water canal as yet another tiger has died due to drowning.

The incident which came to light yesterday is the second such case within a span of six months. Officials found the body of a male tiger floating in Sharda canal in Maho range at Chuka village in Pilibhit district yesterday.

“The tiger is around five years old and all body parts have been found intact. There is no external injury mark. The body has been sent to Indian Veternary Research Institute at Bareilly for postmortem to ascertain the exact cause of death,” a senior official in environment ministry told PTI.

The canal, existing since 1900, claimed several tigers in the past. At least three tigers had died there during 1986-87.

However, the deaths have not gone down well with the National Tiger Conservation Authority officials who feel that such incidents cannot be taken as natural as the striped cats are usually “good swimmers”.

“We are waiting for the autopsy report and will accordingly take action in the matter,” an NTCA official said.

There are around 100 tigers in UP and the NTCA asked the state to prepare a detailed report to pave way for declaring Pilibhit as a tiger reserve. “Once it is declared as a reserve, steps can be taken to make the canal safe and avoid such incidents,” the official said.

http://www.samaylive.com/news/tiger-drowns-in-up-canal-ntca-to-decide-action-after-autopsy/607622.html

http://bigcatrescue.org