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Thursday, October 28, 2010

Tigress poisoned in Bandhavgarh reserve, rescued

Bhopal, Oct 27 (PTI) A tigress in Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve was rescued after it was poisoned allegedly by some villagers, officials said. "The tigress is now fine and we are in the process of sending the samples of her vomiting for test," the Reserve Deputy Field Director Mridul Pathak told PTI today. The tigress was found unwell near Mala-Kathali villages close to park fencing yesterday morning, after it ate the remains of a prey it hunted down a day ago, Pathak said. The tigress had hunted a goat on October 25 in Mala village and devoured half of it, officials said. By the time it reached to eat its kill again, somebody had laced the prey with poison, a practise often used by the villagers to eliminate carnivores out of fear or by poachers, officials said. "Now the tigress is fine and at Chakradhara area," Pathak said. "We have collected the samples of the tigress vomiting from the spot where it killed the goat. Besides, we have collected the sample of what the tigress vomited after she was found in the park," the reserve deputy director, said. Forest officials have detained some villagers, including the owner of the goat for interrogation, sources said.