National Tiger Conservation Authority seeks report on tiger death in Kerala’s Wayanad

National Tiger Conservation Authority seeks report on tiger death in Wayanad; necropsy reveals wounds from fight with another tiger.

National Tiger Conservation Authority, a statutory body under the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, has sought a report from the Kerala Department of Forest and Wildlife on the death of the tiger at Pancharakolly in Wayanad district on Monday (January 27, 2025).

The department has not registered a case even after the tiger was found dead outside the forest as it has “no suspicions” about the animal’s death. The necropsy conducted on Monday revealed that the deep wounds on the neck, likely incurred during a fight with another tiger, was the cause of its death. The four bite marks on its neck were from the teeth of another tiger, the report confirmed.

Meanwhile, the dead tiger could not be found in the database of the Forest departments in both Kerala and Karnataka, raising questions about how the tiger reached the area. Forest department officials explained that tigers that share a territory often come together and attack any tiger that encroaches into their territory and shared the assumption that the same could have happened here, especially since it is the mating season of tigers. The wounds were not incurred at the same time, as some were quite old.

The officials think that the tiger could have returned to the forest after killing a tribal woman, Radha, at Pancharakolly, and a second fight with other tigers could have resulted in the wounds that led to its death.

Tigers are identified from the brown and black lines on their body which are different for each tiger. The lines on the stomach, neck and forelegs besides the pug marks are factors that identify the tigers. The cameras set up at the spot where Radha was attacked, have captured images of the tiger from both sides, which have been used to confirm the identity of the man-eater, before the department launched the search operations. Its identity was confirmed using the same images after its death.

Meanwhile, the Forest department and the local residents have a difference of opinion regarding the animal that attacked a youth at Pulpara in Wayanad. While the department claims that it was a leopard, the locals maintain that it was a tiger.

Kerala Forest Minister A.K. Saseendran is set to chair a meeting on Wednesday to assess the procedure followed after the tiger attack was reported.