Nagpur: A male tiger aged around five to six years was found dead in the Chanoda area under the South Umred Forest Range on Saturday morning. Forest officials have launched an investigation into the cause of death.Forest officials said all body parts of the tiger, including its skin, claws, canines, teeth, paws, tail and whiskers, were found intact, ruling out any immediate signs of poaching. Samples have been collected for forensic examinations.Local villagers alerted forest staff after spotting the carcass in a stream adjoining Compartment No. 364 PF in Nandra (West) beat of the South Umred Forest Range. Senior forest officials were informed, and action was initiated as per the Standard Operating Procedures laid down by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA).A thorough inspection of the area was conducted, and the tiger’s body was shifted to the range office premises, where a postmortem examination was carried out in accordance with NTCA guidelines.The autopsy was conducted by a team of veterinarians led by Dr Sujith Kolangat of WRTC Gorewada, in the presence of senior forest officials, including conservator of forests G Guruprasad, deputy conservator of forests Dr Vinita Vyas, assistant conservator of forests Manoj Dhanvijay and South Umred range forest officer Vivek Ambatkar. Representatives of NTCA and the office of the principal chief conservator of forests were also present during the procedure.The exact cause of death will be determined only after the postmortem and forensic reports are received, forest officials said. However, villagers in the area suspect that the tiger may have been struck by lightning. The region witnessed heavy rainfall accompanied by intense lightning and thunderstorm activity on Friday. Forest authorities, however, have not confirmed the claim and are awaiting postmortem reports before drawing any conclusions.Following the examination, the tiger was cremated as per the prescribed protocol. A forest offence has been registered in connection with the death, and further investigation is being conducted by assistant conservator of forests Manoj Dhanvijay.The Umred-Karhandla landscape is one of Maharashtra’s prominent tiger habitats and has witnessed a steady rise in the big cat population over the years. Forest officials are now awaiting forensic findings to determine the circumstances leading to the tiger’s death.
