MP: Tiger carcass found in river in Pench reserve buffer zone

A tiger was found dead in a river in the buffer zone of Pench Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh's Chhindwara district on Saturday, also the day when all six reserves dedicated to the big cat opened across the state post a three-month monsoon break.

Fishermen passed on the information about a tiger carcass floating in the Pench river and a forest team is rushing to the site in Kona-Paidri village, which is located on the border of Chhindwara and Seoni districts, PTR Chhindwara forest area sub divisional officer BP Tiwari told PTI over phone.

He said details like whether the death was due to poaching would be known once the carcass is thoroughly examined.

Meanwhile, six tigers reserves in the state, namely Kanha, Bandhavgarh, Satpura, Pench, Panna and Sanjay-Dubri reopened on Saturday.

The core areas were closed for three months in the monsoon as it is mating time for the big cats as well as to create grasslands and other infrastructure for wildlife, officials said.

Madhya Pradesh leads the country with 526 tigers. As per the All India Tiger Estimation Report 2018, the country has 2,967 tigers.

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