A male Royal Bengal Tiger has died suspectedly after being hit by a stray bullet fired by forest guards to prevent it from entering human habitations adjacent to the Kaziranga National Park in Assam's Golaghat district, a senior forest official said.
The big cat's carcass was found near Japoripothar in Karuabari area on Friday, Divisional Forest Officer, Eastern Assam Wildlife Division, Ramesh Gogoi said.
"The tiger had killed a bovine animal in the area on Thursday. Forest guards, who were called in by the locals, had opened fire to scare the animal and push it back to the jungle but it is suspected that one stray bullet might have hit the big cat," he said.
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A patrol team of the Forest Department spotted the carcass during the day. Upon enquiry, it was found that the tiger had died due to a bullet wound, the forest officer added.