Tiger fights can be heard up to 2 km away:PCCF questions tiger’s death; asks why there was negligence despite radio collar monitoring

The death of a tiger in Madhya Pradesh’s Veerangana Durgavati Tiger Reserve has raised serious questions about monitoring by forest staff. The tiger had come from Kanha National Park and was fitted with a radio collar to track its movement. A notice issued by the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and Head of Forest Force to the Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) of the reserve has highlighted the issue. It asked that when two tigers fight, their roar can be heard up to two kilometres away, so how such an incident went unnoticed by the forest staff. The notice also pointed to a possible lapse in monitoring. According to the information, the radio-collared tiger stayed in the same location for nearly 48 hours. Despite the lack of movement signals, the monitoring team did not visit the spot to check the tiger’s condition. The incident has exposed possible negligence by the monitoring team responsible for tracking the animal. Questions are now being raised about why no immediate action was taken when the tiger’s movement stopped. After allegations of negligence in the tiger’s safety surfaced, the Tiger Reserve management formed a three-member inquiry team. The team will investigate the circumstances of the tiger’s death and examine the responsibilities of the staff deployed for its protection. Tiger found dead on February 15 Actually, a tiger, approximately 35 months old, brought from Kanha National Park, was released into the Veerangana Rani Durgavati Tiger Reserve on the night of January 18-19. It was kept in the core area of the Muhli Range of the Tiger Reserve, where its movements were being monitored with a radio collar. When the tiger did not move for a day, the monitoring team did not pay attention to it, as it had not been moving much since its arrival in the Tiger Reserve. On the second day too, it did not move. It was located at the same spot, which made the team suspicious. On the third day, February 15, the monitoring team reached compartment number 159 of the Manegaon Beat of the Tiger Reserve based on the location, where the tiger was found dead. Tiger’s skull found fractured in post-mortem A four-member panel of expert doctors conducted the post-mortem of the tiger’s carcass. The post-mortem report stated territory fight as the cause of the tiger’s death. The tiger’s skull bones were found fractured. Additionally, one of its paw nails was broken and there was a tooth mark on its eye. The death of this tiger is being considered negligence on the part of the Tiger Reserve. Wildlife activist Ajay Dubey sent a complaint via e-mail to the PCCF. In it, he wrote – the tiger had a radio collar. The radio collar provides static alerts every 8 hours, which was ignored. Why was no attention paid to the sound of tigers roaring or other activity during the territory fight? Where is the other tiger involved in the fight, is it safe? PCCF instructed action against the culprits After receiving a complaint about the tiger’s death, the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and Head of Forest Force (PCCF) issued a notice to Rajneesh Singh, DFO of Veerangana Durgavati Tiger Reserve, seeking a response. In it, he wrote that an attempt was made to hide the negligence of the employees. In response to the notice, DFO Singh presented evidence related to the tiger’s death and his side of the story, citing a territory fight as the reason. On this, the PCCF, taking cognizance of the matter again, spoke of hiding the negligence of the employees. He also gave instructions to take action against the culprits in the matter. Tiger shifted from Kanha 28 days before death The tiger found dead in Veerangana Durgavati Tiger Reserve was brought from Kanha National Park 28 days ago. It was released into the open forest of the Tiger Reserve and monitored with a radio collar. According to park management, the tiger was rescued as a cub in April 2023 from Pench Tiger Reserve in Rukhad area, Seoni district. At that time, it was about 4-5 months old. It had been separated from its mother. Initially, the management searched for the tigress, but when it could not be found, the cub was shifted to the Ghorela Rewilding Enclosure, specially prepared for orphaned cubs in Kanha Tiger Reserve. After completing about 35 months of training in the enclosure, it became capable of hunting on its own. Management investigated three points Post-mortem conducted by a panel of four expert doctors Rajneesh Kumar, DFO of the Tiger Reserve, said: The tiger’s post-mortem was conducted by a panel of four expert doctors, including a wildlife doctor and an NTCA representative. Evidence related to the tiger’s death in a territorial fight was found. DFO Singh informed that the tiger was shifted to the Tiger Reserve about 28 days ago. It was being monitored with the help of a radio collar, but the tiger was not moving much. It often stayed in one place for 24 to 36 hours. Due to this, the monitoring team did not pay normal attention. The monitoring team monitors the tiger from about 500 meters away using a radio collar. The team never goes in front of the tiger, so that it does not become uncomfortable. The monitoring team follows a predetermined route, but the tiger can go anywhere in the jungle. In such a situation, the monitoring team cannot monitor by going in front of the tiger, as it can be dangerous. He said that during a territory fight, tigers expend their energy in the fight, so their roar is not loud. Suspicion of a pre-meditated ambush On the question of not hearing the sound of tigers in a territory fight, DFO Singh said – Usually, when any two animals fight, they don’t make noise. I have 29 years of experience. I have seen tiger fights. They don’t make much noise during a fight because it expends their energy. In this case, it seems as if the second tiger was already ambushing. When it attacked, the other tiger might not have got a chance to defend itself. DFO Rajneesh Singh informed that a three-member team has been constituted under the leadership of the SDO to investigate the tiger’s death. Further action will be taken based on the investigation. If any shortcomings come to light, they will be rectified. Fact file of Veerangana Durgavati Tiger Reserve On September 20, 2023, the Nauradehi Wildlife Sanctuary was granted the status of a Tiger Reserve. It is spread over an area of 2339 sq km across 3 districts – Sagar, Damoh, and Narsinghpur. It includes a core area of 1414 sq km and a buffer area of 925.12 sq km. There are about 25 tigers in the Tiger Reserve. However, the latest census is pending.