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| Carcass of the tiger that was captured on camera trap in Gujarat's Mahisagar district two weeks ago |
In
India's Gujarat state, two weeks ago, there was so much excitement amongst the
wildlife and conservation society because a
tiger was captured on
camera trap marking the animal's
return to the state after nearly thirty years. But now, that excitement has been short-lived with the news of the tiger found dead in the forest area of
Mahisagar district where it was recorded two weeks ago. The animal's decomposed body was discovered near the village of Signali in the district on Tuesday at around 5:00 pm. According to
Vadodara chief conservator of forests S.K Shrivastava, the carcass of the tiger was found 12 kilometers away from the place where it was seen the last time on camera last week. Additional chief secretary of forests and environment Rajeev Gupta added that the tiger had died before two or three days and that all four of the animal's legs were in tact. The animal's
viscera and other body parts have been given to the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) to determine its precise cause of death. Primary reports hinted that one of the tiger's forelegs was missing In response to the tiger's death, a series of massive awareness drives for
Gujarat Forest Department officials and local villagers was conducted. Dreading that
poachers may be seeing an opportunity to kill the tiger, the department had escalated its communication with villagers and requested them to notify officials if they saw any suspicious person. The villagers were also warned to never reveal the tiger's location to anyone.
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| Camera trap footage showing the tiger in Mahisagar district |
It really breaks my heart to see how one day there is so much excitement that an animal like a tiger, which was last seen in Gujarat thirty years ago, show up and then suddenly it is found dead. How did this tiger die and who or what caused its death? These are the questions that need to be answered. I strongly urge the Gujarat Forest Department to make sincere and effective efforts to investigate how did this tiger die and take diligent steps to prevent any other tiger which crosses into Gujarat from ending up this way. In addition, local villagers living in the area should play their part by reporting any suspicious people or activity and never disclose the tiger's location to anyone. However, these awareness drives should not just be limited in Mahisagar district. The forest department should also conduct similar awareness campaigns in other districts in North, Central, and South Gujarat which respectively border Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Maharashtra. All three of these states are home to some of the most significant and active tiger populations in India and tigers from any of these states could unexpectedly cross into Gujarat like the one seen in Mahisagar district. This is why I firmly believe that it is highly essential to bolster conservation efforts to keep the tiger safe in Gujarat, along with the Asiatic lion and the leopard. All three of these big cats once inhabited Gujarat before the tiger disappeared and it is the job of wildlife and conservation officials and local people to ensure their safety.
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