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Sawai Madhopur: Ranthambore tiger dies after being tranquilized

The death came a day after another tiger died after being trapped in an iron fencing in Sariska Tiger Reserve.

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March 24, 2018, 9:06 pm

T-28 ranthambore tiger reserve

Ranthambore Tiger Reserve: T-28 dies after being tranquilized.

Jaipur: A tiger died in Ranthambore National Park in Sawai Madhopur after a forest department team tranquilized him. The team was trying to rescue the tiger from a mob of angry villagers. The tiger, popularly known as T-28 was, was about 13 years old, not healthy enough to cope with the effects of the drug used in tranquilization. Once he was trapped by the team, he never gained consciousness. He later died.

The death came a day after another tiger died after being trapped in an iron fencing in Sariska Tiger Reserve. Wildlife lovers cried foul saying that the negligence of authorities was quite evident in both the incidents. In the Sawai Madhopur case, the team had no option other than to tranquilize the tiger because he had been surrounded by the mob and the villagers were trying to kill him, officials said.

On Tuesday, T-28 entered an agriculture farm. As soon as the villagers came to know about it, they gathered around the farm and tried to corner the tiger. T-28 was already injured and could have become violent. As the forest department officials came to know about the situation, they rushed a rescue team led by doctors to the spot.

ranthambore tiger T-28 death

Tiger T-28 body.

The tiger was first spotted at 9 am. As the news spread throughout the nearby areas, the villagers gathered in huge numbers. The forest department teams repeatedly pleaded with villagers to leave the area, but they didn’t. The officials assured the villagers as they would be compensated for any loss of crop, but they didn’t listen. They even hurled stones on the members of the rescue team. The tiger sustained injuries.

The team then tranquilized and caged him. When the team was leaving the area in a vehicle, the villagers intercepted the vehicle and demanded compensation on the spot. The team members had to borrow money to pay the villagers. Only then the team was allowed to leave the spot. The tiger was rushed to a medical facility, but he died.

First published: March 21, 2018