Tigress poisoned in bandhavgarh

TALA (BANDHAVGARH): All is not well with Bandhavgarh National Park. Just five months after a big cat was killed in a car crash right inside the park, a tigress was allegedly poisoned by local villagers and a male tiger was found with severe injury, apparently following a territory fight.

Around two weeks ago, a tigress, known as Aamnullahwali Sherni, was allegedly poisoned by a resident of Malagaon — a village bordering the reserve — after it killed one of his goats. According to forest officials, the animal had killed and eaten a portion of the goat and left the rest near a bush to have it later. The villager, Rewa Burman, found the carcass and allegedly laced it with poison, knowing that the tigress would return to her kill. After a few hours, a forest patrol found the unconscious tigress in the Kathli beat of Tala range. Senior officers, including forest department veterinarian Nitin Gupta, rushed to the spot. The tigress was administered an injection and soon it regained consciousness. "It's now doing quite fine," said range officer (tourism) S C Pandey.

"Initially we had thought that the animal was ill. But then our vet examined it and decided that the tigress had been poisoned. It had vomited copiously and maybe we could save it because of that only," Pandey added. The vomit samples have been sent to the forensic laboratory in Sagar, Madhya Pradesh. The reports, however, are yet to reach Bandhavgarh, said the range officer.

Burman, meanwhile, has been languishing behind bars — in judicial custody. "It's the forest department which has prosecuted him and the charges under the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act are non-bailable," said V C Verma, superintendent of police, Umaria district.

A section of villagers, however, claim that Burman is a just a scapegoat. "The tigress got caught in the wire fencing put up by the forest department while trying to enter the village. The forest officials are trying to cover it up and showing it as a case of poisoning," said a villager, refusing to reveal his identity.

The range officer, however, rejected the claim. "There was no injury mark on the tigress, which was lying unconscious. Its front legs had been tied up with a rope before it was administered the injection. And just a few minutes after the antidote was injected, the animal gained such strength that it snapped the rope and jumped away," said Pandey, who incidentally was not on the spot.

What kind of poison do the villagers use to kill the big cats? And what drugs are used to treat a poisoned tiger? The range officer is not aware. "Dr Gupta would be able to tell you," he says. But unfortunately, Gupta could not be contacted.

Wildlife painter Mahesh Jangam, who hails from Rajasthan's Ranthambore and runs an art school in Bandhavgarh, seems better-informed. "Generally, the villagers use a strong pesticide called Aldrin to kill the tigers. It's the same poison that had been used to kill two cubs in Ranthambore in March this year," he says.

Meanwhile, a male tiger has been found in Tala range with a four-inch wound on its neck. The tiger, identified as 13-year-old B2, is under observation. "But it could not be treated so far," says a forest official. The department came to know about the injury on October 29. "Later, trackers on elephant managed to spot it, but every time, the tiger managed to run away. And the wound is difficult to heal since it's on the neck and the animal cannot lick it," the official added. "It was probably injured in a territory fight with some other male tiger," said a forest guide.