Madhya Pradesh: Tiger found dead in Bandhavgarh Reserve

According to the World Wildlife Fund, wild tiger numbers dropped more than 95 percent since the beginning of the 20th century. (Image: Reuters)

A tiger was found dead in the Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve (BTR) in Madhya Pradesh's Umaria district, an official said on Sunday.

A forest team on Saturday got the information about a tiger carcass lying in Badwar beat of the reserve's Dhamokhar range following which officials along with a dog squad inspected the area, BTR's field director Rajiv Mishra said.

Prima facie, it appears that the tiger, aged 13 to 14 years, died due to old age, he said.

No suspected activity was found in the area and all body parts were intact, the official said.

After an autopsy, the carcass was disposed of as per the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) guidelines and the viscera was sent to a laboratory for examination, he said.

According to the All-India Tiger Estimation Report 2018, Madhya Pradesh was home to 526 tigers, the highest in any state of the country.

The state has a number of tiger reserves, including Kanha, Bandhavgarh, Pench, Satpura and Panna.