Guwahati: The death of a five-year-old female Royal Bengal tiger at the Assam State Zoo has sparked outrage and accusations of negligence against the forest department officials involved in its capture and transportation.
The tiger, which had ventured out of Orang National Park during recent floods and attacked livestock in the Dhing area of Nagaon district, was tranquilized and captured on Friday evening. However, it died while being transported to the zoo.
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Wildlife activist Dilip Nath has blamed the forest department for the tiger’s death, claiming that their lack of expertise and disregard for proper procedures led to the fatal outcome.
Nath alleged that the tiger died due to suffocation while being transported in an inadequately ventilated box.
“The forest officials, especially some IFS officers, ignored my suggestions for proper handling and transportation of the tiger. This negligence has resulted in the loss of a precious wildlife species,” Nath stated.
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“The forest officials should have been aware that a tiger’s temperature rises significantly after tranquilization. Despite this, they failed to take necessary precautions, such as pouring at least 20 liters of water on the tiger after half an hour, leading to its tragic death,” said the wildlife activist.
He claimed that the tiger died during transportation to the zoo, not at the zoo as stated by officials.
Some conservationists criticized the department’s decision to transport the tiger to the state zoo instead of releasing it in a more suitable habitat like Kaziranga National Park.
“The tiger was not a man-eater, but likely displaced from its habitat due to recent flooding. As such, there was no danger in releasing it back into the wild,” said a conservationist
Sources within the forest department have revealed that coordination issues and a lack of adherence to guidelines have plagued the department’s operations.
The department’s functioning has been impacted by internal conflicts and the influence of certain officials close to Special Chief Secretary (Forest) MK Yadav.
MK Yadava, a controversial IFS officer, who faced multiple allegations, was appointed Special Chief Secretary (Forest) after his retirement as PCCF and Head of Forest Force (HoFF).