After the carcass of a 10-year-old male tiger was found in the Pazhamputhoor village of Kodaikanal forest area on Wednesday, post-mortem confirmed that the tiger was poisoned.
The post-mortem report showed that the tiger died due to a pesticide. The carcass of the tiger was found next to the carcass of a pony. The owner of the pony could have sprayed Carbofuran, one of the most toxic pesticides, district forest officer D Venkatesh told TOI.
Forest officers said that when the tiger would have come to feed on the meat again, it would have caused his death. The officials also claimed that the tiger was not killed for its skin, nails or other body parts.
The post-mortem was conducted by veterinarians from the Animal Husbandry department . A few body parts would be sent to the toxicology laboratory at Coimbatore for further analysis, Venkatesh told TOI.
Forest officers said that this is the second death due to poisoning in the Poombarai range. In the first incident in 2014, the cattle owner had tried to sell the tiger skin and other body parts.