In a concerning development reported from Tamil Nadu's Ooty, two tigers have tragically lost their lives in circumstances shrouded in mystery, according to statements from forest officials on Sunday.
The lifeless bodies of these majestic creatures were discovered in a stream situated near the Avalanche area of Ooty. Promptly alerted to this distressing incident, local forest authorities swiftly reached the scene and subsequently arranged for the two tiger carcasses to undergo a thorough post-mortem examination.
Regarding the grim question of whether these tigers met their demise due to poisoning or injuries sustained during a confrontation, the forest officials conveyed that, at present, the exact cause of death remains undisclosed and can only be ascertained once the autopsy findings have been meticulously reviewed.
However, sources within the wildlife department have disclosed that while one of the tigers displayed no apparent signs of physical injury, the other bore visible wounds. The true nature of these injuries, though, will only be definitively determined through the post-mortem investigation.
To launch a comprehensive inquiry into this tragic incident, a specialized team of twenty individuals has been constituted under the supervision of the District Forest Officer, Devaraj.
These regrettable tiger fatalities have raised the total number of tiger deaths in the Nilgiris region to six in a span of just one month. Notably, on August 17, a tigress was discovered lifeless within the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve, with two cubs also meeting an untimely end in the Sigur range. Furthermore, an older tiger, aged 17 years, was found deceased in a tea estate in Naduvattam, Tamil Nadu.
In response to these previous fatalities, forest department officials attributed the demise of two tigers to intraspecific conflicts, while the unfortunate cubs, it is believed, could not endure after being abandoned by their mother.
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