Tiger found dead in Kanha National Park

BHOPAL: A fully-grown tiger was found dead under mysterious circumstances at Kanha National Park on Thursday sending shockwaves among conservationists and forest department officials. The reserve was thrown open for tourists on Tuesday.

The carcass of the big cat was found near Kishliarea within boundary of the tiger reserve — spread across Balaghatand Mandladistricts of Madhya Pradesh, said sources.

"We got information from the villagers. When teams reached the spot, bodies of the tiger and a fresh killed chital was found. No injuries were found on tiger's body. So cause of the death can be ascertained only after autopsy," Narendra Kumar, state's chief wildlife warden (CCF) told TOI.

Earlier in the evening, a villager had nearly fallen prey to a big cat on the prowl in the same reserve near Khatiagate. 25-year-old Ghanshyam Yadav survived the grizzly attack.

Yadav, who hails from village Mocha village, had taken buffalos to a forest pond for grazing. While he was busy tending his cattle, a tiger lurking in the area attacked him. Yadavwho sustained fatal injuries and was rushed to district hospital in Mandlafor for further treatment.

A tiger, could have been poisoned in what is suspected to be an act of revenge, it's learnt. Officials claim, the postmortem report and visceral analysis will solve the mystery.