Shivamogga: It’s been a year since the carcass of a tiger, around eight years old, was discovered floating in the backwaters of the Ambligola dam, on the border of Shikaripura and Sagara taluks, in Shivamogga district. However, until this day, the death remains a mystery.The tiger carcass was found floating in the backwaters of the Ambligola dam on Feb 17, 2025, marking a black day for wildlife conservation in Karnataka.
Nagaraj Bellur, a conservationist and an NGO representative, was present during the post-mortem of the big cat. He had flagged suspicious marks near the neck of the tiger that strongly resembled gunshots wounds, which led forest minister Eshwar B Khandre to order an investigation. The probe report was supposed to be submitted within 10 days. However, the investigation hit a wall when the Forensic Sciences Laboratory (FSL) observed that since the carcass was submerged for 24-36 hours, any likely trace of gunpowder or lead was washed away or got masked due to decomposition. Convinced that there was foul play, a year after the incident, Bellur took to social media to express his disappointment, noting that the tiger’s killers were still at large. Mohammed Fayajuddin, the deputy conservator of forest (Sagara division), said the FSL report had ruled out poaching. However, he told TOI, the forest department’s inquiry is still on. “We are recording the the statements of residents from the area,” he said.
