Wayanad tiger had severe worm infestation

 

Kalpetta (Kerala), Jan 10: A probe into the death of a tiger at Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary Jan 6 has found that the tiger was suffering from severe worm infestation.

 

The 15-year-old male tiger was found dead in Kurichiyad forest range of the sanctuary, nearly 500 km north of capital Thiruvananthapuram. The sanctuary is home to around 20 tigers.

“We did not think that the animal died due to poisoning,” P.M. Suresh, forest range officer, told IANS.

“The intestine of the dead tiger was infested with hookworm. The hookworm infestation could turn fatal to big cats. We have sent samples from the intestine for conducting toxicology study,” he said.

“And only after we get the result, we would be able to confirm the cause of the death,” said Arun Zacharia, the veterinary surgeon who conducted the autopsy.

“We are conducting a study to assess the prevalence of the hookworm infestation,” Zacharia said.

Tiger deaths are very rarely reported from the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary. Though human-animal conflicts have been common in recent times.

 

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