The death of a big cat inside Valmiki Tiger Reserve (VTR) in Bihar’s West Champaran has raised eyebrows among forest officials. 

How did this tiger die? 

Truth is not known. But forest officials of VTR found a tiger lying dead in the forest on Sunday evening. A senior forest official told JharkhandStateNews.com that its death was the result of a “territorial fight” rampant among big cats in the forest of Bihar. 

The carcass of the big cat was recovered from compartment number 55 of the Maguraha forest range of VTR, located in West Champaran district.

“Prima facie, it appeared that the death occurred due to the injuries sustained in a fight with other big cats in the forest. The big cat looks to be 7–8 years old. 

However, the age and exact cause of death would be known after postmortem,” said Dr. Neshamani K, wild conservator and field director of VTR. 

Viscera was sent to the Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI), Bareilly, and the Wildlife Institute of India (WWI) at Dehradun for forensic testing. 

Dr Neshamani ruled out the possibility of poaching as the cause of the death. The tiger is suspected to have received multiple injuries. 

However, another official said, “We are investigating the death from all the possible angles. This includes death due to poaching, fighting with other animals, and diseases.”  

Before this on January 31, 2021, a tiger’s carcass was recovered near the Sirisiya forest area under the Gobardhana forest range of VTR in West Champaran district, which was allegedly killed in a territorial fight.  

Earlier, a tigress was found dead in the Raghiya forest area, near Ghodaghat village, in the division one area of VTR on December 31, 2019. This was also attributed by officials to the fight between two big cats over territorial fights.