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Cannibalism a new threat! Tiger eats tigress in Madhya Pradesh
P Naveen | TNN | Updated: Jan 20, 2019, 15:00 IST

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BHOPAL: In a worst and rarest case of infighting between big cats, an adult tiger was killed and eaten by another in Kanha National Park of Madhya Pradesh. This is a fresh instance of prevailing cannibalism among MP tigers, said sources. More such incidents were reported from other reserves recently.

Partial remains including a skull and paws were found on Saturday evening. Viscera has been sent for further analysis. “One which got killed seems to be a tigress and the one who killed is a tiger. We are trying to match the stripes,” said Kanha’s field director L Krishnamurthy. There can be no other reason than territorial fight, said the officer adding it was the rarest case in which a tiger’s body has been eaten to this extent when the area has a good prey base.

Forest guards saw the scattered parts of tigress while patrolling on elephants at Mundidadar beat. They informed the matter to higher officials. Officials say its claws and canines were intact, thus ruling out any foul play. The forest officials and experts from WWF and WTI who surveyed the area where the carcass was recovered had given a preliminary report.

There are quite a few instances where cubs are eaten by adult tigers but two adult tigers fighting and one eating the other is rare. "Though history has instances of cannibalism in tigers, it is rare," said an officer. Eating is never meant to satiate the hunger but is an extension of the fight. The experts also deny linking the `tiger-eating-tiger' instance with declining prey-base in forests. Kanha in-fighting could also be explained in the backdrop of the fact that it has a good population of tigers.

Experts say most of the tiger populations in well-established tiger reserves reached carrying capacity, posing a fresh challenge to deal with dispersals and conflicts.

Tigers are either getting killed in the war of territorial supremacy or moving more than 200 km from their place of birth and meeting unnatural deaths, said an official. Almost all tiger reserves have already exceeded their carrying capacity, he said adding “This shows that the forest department has made good conservation efforts. But, now we must think about extending more protection to the tiger corridors and territorial divisions.

Madhya Pradesh was declared a ‘Tiger State’ in 1995 when it harboured nearly 20% of India’s tiger population and nearly 10% of the world's tiger population, now the scene has changed. The tiger death toll is alarming. Tiger population reaching forest’s carrying capacity is natural, but it is becoming a cause of concern especially because movement corridors are disrupted. This has led to overcrowding of tigers that is straying into human habitation triggering conflict.

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