Karnataka Forest Department officials on Thursday said a tiger was found dead in a coffee estate in Virajpet range of Kodagu district. They said that the injuries on the left paw and shoulder indicated that it might have been involved in a territorial fight. The officials said the exact cause of death will be known only through a post-mortem examination conducted under National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) protocol.
According to PTI, a senior official said: "This particular tiger which was about 13-year-old was in a conflict situation. It was engaged in cattle killing on a regular basis in the coffee estate and around. It was quite old and since it was entering the human habitation and was also in a conflict situation, our forest personnel started tracking it...we wanted to capture it for which we had permission so that any human injuries or death could be avoided."
Even three days ago, he said, the tiger was spotted limping in an area which was near the coffee estate. So, a forest department team accompanied by elephants and veterinarians conducted a search operation.