The tiger found dead at Nagarahole National Park on Friday is now suspected to be the same one that attacked and killed a teenager in Hunsur a few days ago.
Ganesh, of Ayanakere Haadi in Muddanahalli forest reserve, a buffer area of Nagarahole National Park in Hunsur taluk, was found dead on September 8. The body bore injury marks which confirmed that he had been attacked by a tiger.
Though a combing operation was launched the same day and thermal drones deployed, apart from the installation of nearly 70 camera traps, the tiger remained elusive all these days. But a carcass was found in Hunsur range of Nagarahole and officials now suspect it could be the same tiger.
The tiger was aged around eight and the cause of death has not been established. But this tiger bore marks of an earlier injury, caused by another wild animal, and it is suspected that infection could have led to its death, according to Nagarahole National Park director Mahesh Kumar.
He said camera trap images of the tiger which killed the boy indicated that it was injured and hence efforts were on to establish if it was the same tiger. “The stripe patterns will be matched and we are looking for other scientific and corroborative evidence to ascertain if it was the same tiger,” said Mr. Kumar. Officials have also ruled out foul play in the death of the tiger as all its parts are intact.
