Two tigresses die in MP's wildlife reserves in separate incidents

Two tigresses, including an eight-year-old, died in the state in separate incidents, officials said.

In the first incident, the carcass of an eight-year-old tigress, 'Kankati', was found on Wednesday in the overflowing Charanganga canal in Tala range of Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve in Umaria district, said C H Murlikrishnan, director of the tiger reserve.

The carnivore was suspected to have been killed in a territorial fight with tigers as deep injury marks were found on its neck and back, he said. The feline was recently sighted with its three cubs by the reserve's beat staff, he said.

The tigress, after getting injured, apparently got swept away in the overflowing canal owing to heavy rains in the region for the last two days, the director said.

However, the exact cause of the death will be known after the postmortem report, he said, adding that a search was on to locate its three cubs.

In another incident, an ailing 14-year-old tigress died of old age in Mandla's Kanha Tiger Reserve, its director J S Chouhan said.

The feline was under observation for quite sometime and died on Wednesday in the wild area, he said.