A man-eating tigress suspected without clinching proof to have killed 13 humans was shot dead on Friday night near a village, ending a long hunt but prompting questions on the means the Maharashtra forest department had adopted to eliminate the feline.
T1 or Avni, a six-year-old mother of two cubs, was shot on a road near Borati village in Ralegaon, Yavatmal district, around 11pm.
A.K. Mishra, principal chief conservator of forests, said the tigress was shot by Asghar Ali Khan, the son of a sharp-shooter from Hyderabad, Shafath Ali Khan.
“Around 11pm, one of our staffers had darted the tigress but she charged at the team. Asghar fired in self-defence and claimed her in a single shot,” Mishra said.
Animal rights activists questioned if Asghar was authorised to kill the tigress since it was father, Shafath, who had originally been called to shoot T1. Shafath was in Bihar on Friday to attend a meeting of the state’s wildlife board.
In fact, Shafath’s presence at Pandarkhwada forest, where T1 had spent all her six years, the last with her two cubs, had also raised eyebrows earlier.
Forest officials have not yet provided evidence that conclusively links any of the 13 deaths to the tigress, said to have last struck in August this year.
Bittu Sahgal, editor of the magazine Sanctuary Asia and a member of the Maharashtra Wildlife Board, sought clarifications from the state’s forest department.
Mishra claimed that Asghar too was authorised to take a shot at the tigress.
Forest department officials claimed the “dart was prepared by a vet”, though the veterinary expert did not accompany the team that shot T1.
The animal rights activists have also questioned the decision to dart the tigress at night when rules allow animals to be darted only before sunset.
The forest officials, however, cited mounting pressure to act soon, saying several villagers from Borati and surrounding villages had seen the tigress roaming in the area.
Meet Ashar, lead emergency response coordinator for the animal rights body PETA, said the shooting of the tigress needs to be investigated under wildlife crime. “A number of procedures were violated by the state, which is not above the law,” Ashar said.
T1’s two cubs were not with her when the tigress was shot. The cubs had not been spotted till Saturday evening.
