The carcass of a Royal Bengal tiger was found in West Bengal’s Lalgarh on Friday. Forest department officials suspect it was hunted down, The Indian Express reported. The department had been trying to capture and relocate the animal since its presence was first caught on hidden cameras after it reportedly strayed into the area.
The male tiger was killed with spears and arrows, The Telegraph reported.
West Bengal’s Chief Wildlife Officer Ravi Kant Sinha said an initial inquiry into the matter indicated that a few locals had killed the animal when it had hunted down a wild boar, News18 reported.
“The cause of death will be clearer after a postmortem, Sinha told the daily. “Two injuries have been found on the tiger. Looks like a sharp object had been used to attack the tiger. An FIR will be lodged at Lalgarh Police Station and a case will be started at Midnapore court.”
Inspector General (Wildlife) Soumitra Dasgupta said the forest department had tried its best to capture the tiger alive.
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