An injured tiger, rescued from Bandipur, died during its journey to Bannerghatta Biological Park (BBP) where it was to be treated on Friday.
The around eight-year-old tiger was found limping in the Moliyuru range of the Bandipur Tiger Reserve on Thursday. As it could not move because of an injury, Forest Department officials acted fast in tranquillising it and shifting it to the BBP.
However, officials said the tiger was dead by the time it was brought to the park around 2.30 a.m.
A post-mortem was conducted, while samples were sent to forensic lab for testing, said Santosh Kumar, executive director, BBP.
Prima facie , the tiger seemed to have died because of infections from its old injuries.
“The tiger was found with old, festering wounds. Due to the lack of movement, it had not eaten and was in a state of starvation. Post-mortem has also shown that the lungs, liver and kidneys had been infected and had failed, leading to the tiger’s death,” said BBP veterinarian Sujay, and added that the death was not linked to the tranquillisers administered while capturing the animal.
Forest officials believe the tiger sustained injuries after a fight with another tiger nearly two weeks ago.
