Tiger poisoned by villagers at Kanha reserve

NEW DELHI: An adult male tiger died after he was allegedly poisoned by villagers whose cattle were killed by the animal at the Kanha Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh.

"The body of the tiger was found in Sautiya village located in the buffer area of the reserve on November 2. It seems some villagers poisoned it as revealed by initial reports," a senior forest official from Kanha tiger reserve said on the condition of anonymity.

The villagers might have suspected that the tiger was killing their cattle and took the step, he said.

He said as the reserve was witnessing a growth in the number of tigers, a spill over from core to the buffer areas where 150 villages are located is bound to happen.

"We give monetary compensation to villagers in case their livestock is killed by the predator in the buffer areas," he added.

In the last one year, there have been over 300 cases of cattle and other livestock being killed by tigers or leopards in the region.