Tiger cub found dead in MP; territorial fight suspected

After an autopsy, the carcass was disposed of as per the National Tiger Conservation Authority NTCA guidelines and its viscera was sent to the laboratories at Sagar and Jabalpur for examination, Bharati said.This is the first tiger death in Madhya Pradesh this year.

A tiger cub was found dead in the buffer zone of Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh's Umaria district, with officials suspecting that it died following a territorial fight.

A forest patrolling team on Saturday spotted the carcass of the feline, nearly 11 months' old, in Majhauli beat of Manpur buffer area, Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve's deputy director Lavit Bharati said in a statement on Sunday. The carcass was found after forest officials launched a search following information about suspected territorial fight in the area during the past couple of days, the official said.

Prima facie, the tiger's death was caused due to the territorial fight with another big cat, he said, adding that further investigation is underway. After an autopsy, the carcass was disposed of as per the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) guidelines and its viscera was sent to the laboratories at Sagar and Jabalpur for examination, Bharati said.

This is the first tiger death in Madhya Pradesh this year. According to the All-India Tiger Estimation Report 2018, Madhya Pradesh was home to 526 tigers, the highest in any state of the country.

Madhya Pradesh has a number of tiger reserves, including Kanha, Bandhavgarh, Pench, Satpura and Panna.