This story is from November 17, 2020

Decomposed tiger carcass found in Maharashtra’s Gondia, many parts of body missing

A tiger carcass with many body parts missing, or strewn in the vicinity, was found on farms in Gondia district on Sunday evening.
Decomposed tiger carcass found in Maharashtra’s Gondia, many parts of body missing
A group was possibly involved in disposing off the tiger’s body
NAGPUR: A tiger carcass with many body parts missing, or strewn in the vicinity, was found on farms in Gondia district on Sunday evening. The highly decomposed carcass was discovered at Lodhitola, a village about 140km from Nagpur. While post mortem could not be conducted due to the putrefied state of the carcass, forest officials have retained some body parts to probe the cause of death.
Foresters suspect the carcass was lying there for last 10 to 12 days.

At around 7pm on Sunday, forest officials came to know about the tiger’s carcass on the farm under Chutiya forest beat in Gondia range. The area was immediately sealed off with local forest employees reaching the spot.
At daybreak on Monday, deputy conservator of forests Kulraj Singh reached the spot and a search of nearby farms started. Gondia wildlife warden (WW) Mukund Dhurve and former WW Savan Bahekar were also on the spot.
Dhurve said, “One of the farmers had gone to his field and noticed the foul smell. He saw the tiger’s remains and informed officials. Only the tiger skin was there, as everything else was either decomposed or purposely removed.”
What they found next points to the involvement of a group in disposing off the tiger’s body. Dhurve said, “Hardly 150 meters from the spot, we found sacks filled with various parts of the tiger’s body. It’s simply not possible for a single person to drag the body around, so more than one person was involved.”

He added that the tiger seems to have been between 2.5 to 3 years old. “It’s difficult to confirm the gender considering the condition of the remains,” said Dhurve.
Forest officials said the tiger’s remains were found in fields belonging to three separate owners. Despite continuing search in the area, the tiger’s head, one hind leg, tail and some nails could not be found.
There was speculation that the tiger might have been electrocuted, but DFC Singh said so far nothing can be confirmed. “We are investigating it thoroughly and at least till the time of issuing our official statement in the evening, no such thing has come to our notice. We are questioning villagers and moving ahead with investigations,” said Singh.
The tiger’s remains were cremated at the Pangli nursery around 1pm on Monday. Some of the body parts have been retained by officials for the purpose of a DNA test.
End of Article
FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA