7 held for snaring tiger to death in STR
An autopsy was performed on the animal suspected to have died more than a week ago and it was burnt at the same spot.
COIMBATORE: Seven persons, including a 17-year-old boy were arrested on Thursday by the Forest Department for snaring a tiger to death in the Bhavanisagar Forest Range under Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve (STR).
The decayed carcass of the five-year-old tiger was spotted during a patrol at Kothamangalam ‘pirivu’ on July 25. The animal was found when the staff checked out on foul smell from a bush.
An autopsy was performed on the animal suspected to have died more than a week ago and it was burnt at the same spot.
A case was registered under the Wild Life (Protection) Act of 1972 and an examination revealed that the tiger died after getting trapped in a snare laid by poachers to poach deer.
The forest officials nabbed seven persons identified as K Sathish Kumar (27), D Nachimuthu (22), K Padmakumar, (19), P Logesh (22), C Paul Dinakaran (22), R Soundarajan and a 17-year-old boy.
“They had laid the snare in the water spread area of Bhavanisagar dam to trap deer. But, the tiger got trapped and it managed to reach Kothamangalam, around 2 km away, before dying of starvation and injuries caused by the snare,” said an official.
The death of a tiger has sent shockwaves among wildlife conservationists as the incident happened while celebrations were underway to mark the International Tiger Day on July 29.