UP: Tigress found dead in Dudhwa buffer zone

The carcass of a two-year-old tigress was recovered from the buffer zone of the Dudhwa Tiger Reserve in Lakhimpur Kheri on Saturday, officials said.

Field director of Dudhwa Tiger Reserve B Prabhakar and deputy director of Dudhwa buffer zone Sundaresh along with veterinary doctors visited the spot where the tigress was found dead.

Prabhakar told PTI that after the physical examination of the carcass, apprehensions of poisoning or poaching have been ruled out.

He said the big cat's canines and claws were damaged and it also had some puncture wounds on the body and near a paw. The tigress was unable to hunt or move properly which subsequently led to its death, the officer said.

Prabhakar said the tigress, around two years old, had barged into a hutment in Rampur Dhakeriya village in Mailani range in a very weak condition.

When the rescue teams of the forest department, in the presence of the villagers, attempted to drive it back into the forests, the big cat attacked their vehicle and took shelter in nearby bushes, where it was later found dead, he added.

The carcass is being sent to the Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Bareilly for a postmortem examination to ascertain the exact cause of its death, the official said.