Tiger Directory

[Apollo]

It is said that Kingfisher aka Rajaram as died in a territorial fight on Friday at Mukki.
Sagnik Sengupta was the first to identify the dead tiger as Kingfisher.
However the senior officials from Kanha as said that the dead tiger was a ten year old male (Kingfisher is a much younger tiger).
It would be very upsetting if its really the Kingfisher, because he was the most dominant and the biggest in Mukki.
It is also said that Bheema was the one who killed it.


For starters Mukki zone in Kanha was ruled by 4 dominant males.
Here is a recap of the Mukki zone till the begining of this season Oct 2016.


Mukki zone was never known for male tigers in the past, it was mainly known for females raising their cubs.
In the past Mukki was ruled by the Limping male (he was the father of Munna and Pattewala) and after is death Mukki was taken over by chain male.
Then came the Redeye male or thin striped male, who after losing to Munna at Kanha meadows moved to Mukki, killed chain male and ruled it.

At around 3 years ago Umarpani entered the picture and challenged redeye for a part of Mukki.
Then came Bheema and Kingfisher, this trio kicked out Redeye and took control of Mukki.
Finally this trio was joined by link 7 male aka Chotta Munna for a share.

All this 4 big guns wanted Mukki and challenged each other which resulted in several territorial battles.


First Umarpani and Kingfisher had several territorial fights between them, both the males were injured in these battles and was treated by the forest officials.
One of such battle was witnessed by the tourists and that fight was dominated by the Kingfisher.
Later Kingfisher to show is dominance killed two of the cubs of Mahaveer female tigress which was sired by Umarpani.


Fight between kingfisher and umarpani

After this Bheema and Link7 exchanged few blows at each other at the Babathenga waterhole.
Then later Bheema and Link7 had a fierce battle at Chota chatta pather road which resulted in Bheema being severly injured.
Bheema retreated from Mukki and was not seen for 2 months. Link7 took over Bheema's territory.

Then later Bheema returned, this time with more confidence and attitude.
Upon his return he was challenged by Link7 several times but this time Bheema dominated the encounters.


Then the fight shifted from Babathenga to Umarjhola in summers of 2016. This time it was Kingfisher and Link 7.
Link7 and Umarpani were half brothers, both were fathered by Munna. Hence they didnt have any conflicts between them (except for once but Umarpani defeated Link7 in that encounter.).
Link7 was shaping up really well and was predicted to take over the legacy of his father. But his enthusiasm and aggression was no match for the girth of Kingfisher who gave him a run for his life. Kingfisher visited Umarjhola for three days to ensure that Link 7 left his territory. Later that week Kingfisher mated with Mahaveer tigress. Mahaveer female gave birth to cubs at the end of the season.

Bheema after dominating and defeating Link7 moved to challenge Umarpani. As per the video footage taken in 2016,  Umarpani male ran off on seeing Bheema.

Here is Umarpani and Bheema encounter
https://m.facebook.com/groups/1571219023...08362&_rdr

It was expected that a battle between Kingfisher and Bheema is inevitable (two most powerful and dominant forces of Mukki).
But unfortunately the season ended and the park was closed.

On reopening of the park in October, Umarpani male as been missing and was not seen but the other 3 males were seen.
This was the status of Mukki, before the news of Kingfisher's death.



Here is the news report on the dead tiger from Mukki


Another tiger carcass was found within a week in Kanha reserve on Friday, raising the toll to an unprecedented 24 in Madhya Pradesh this year.


This is the highest number of tiger deaths this year for any state in India. Last year, Madhya Pradesh lost 11 tigers while the preceding year the state recorded the country’s second highest tiger mortality at 14. In 2013, the state recorded nine tiger deaths, while it was 12 in 2012.

Seventy-five tigers have died so far this year across the country with Madhya Pradesh alone accounting nearly one-third of the toll, according to National Tiger Conservation Authority. Of the 24 tiger deaths, 10 were in Pench and nine reported from Kanha.

A senior official of Kanha told HT that the carcass of ten-year-old male tiger was found in Mukki range in core of Kanha reserve. “The carcass bore some injury marks, indicating that it might have been killed in a territorial fight. Only after post mortem, the exact cause of its death will be clear,” he said.

Pench-based wildlife enthusiast Sagnik Sengupta said the tiger whose carcass was found on Friday was known as Kingfisher male. “It is likely that he was killed by another tiger Bhima in a territorial fight. Bhima has made Mukki range his territory,” he said

Friday’s was the third tiger death in the state in last one month. 
On September 29, a one-year-old tigress died in Pench Tiger Reserve’s buffer area due to starvation. A carcass of tiger with its four paws missing was found in Khatiya range of Kanha reserve on October 22. The tiger had died due to electrocution.

Once home to the highest tiger population in India, Madhya Pradesh lost the top spot to Karnataka in 2010 following a census conducted by Wildlife Institute of India. According to a census in January 2015, the tiger numbers increased from 257 in 2010 to 308. However, since January 2015, 35 tigers have died in the state.


TIGER DEATHS IN MP THIS YEAR TILL NOW

[i]October 28: The carcass of a tiger found Mukki range of Kanha Tiger Reserve.[/i]

[i]October 22: The carcass of a tiger was found in the Khatiya range of Kanha Tiger Reserve on Saturday late evening, with four missing paws missing.[/i]

[i]June 16: Tiger dies in Kanha National Park[/i]

[i]May 21: Over 12-month-old tigress dies at Kanha, due to territorial fighting[/i]

[i]April 26: A tiger dies in Kisli forest of Kanha Tiger Reserve[/i]

[i]April 18: 8-year-old tigress dies while defending its two cubs from another tiger in Mukki range of Kanha Tiger Reserve[/i]

[i]April 16: 14-year-old tiger dies of old age and starvation in Supkhar range of Kanha Tiger reserve[/i]

[i]April 8: Tiger cub in Pench dies from septicemia infection at Kanha Tiger Reserve, where it was shifted. A tiger cub dies in Gorella Mukki forest of Kanha Tiger Reserve[/i]

[i]March 9: A tiger dies in Kisli forest of Kanha Tiger Reserve[/i]


http://www.hindustantimes.com/bhopal/tiger-carcass-found-in-mp-s-kanha-reserve-toll-reaches-24/story-1pL9IumiX8B3EDp5gs5zEN.html Reply