Three tigers have been found dead in the forests in the Terai region during the past three days, setting alarm bells ringing among wildlife enthusiasts.
The body of a tiger was recovered on Sunday from the Dudhwa National Park in Lakhimpur district and it is suspected that the big cat was probably poisoned to death by poachers.
Two more tigers have been found dead in the forests of the neighbouring Pilibhit district. The first tiger was found dead on the May 24 in the Haripur range while the body of the second tiger was spotted barely 24 hours later, just 300 meters from the stream where the body of the first tiger was recovered.
Since the bodies of the tigers were found more than 18 hours of their deaths, the post-mortem has not been able to confirm poisoning.
Four dairy owners have been detained in Pilibhit on grounds of suspicion.
The police suspects that they could have used poisoned baits in the forests to eliminate the tigers since the big cats in the region are often a threat to cattle that goes out to graze in the forest.
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Population of big cat rises in uttarakhand
age correspondent
Lucknow, May 27
Uttarakhand is in a celebration mood because the tiger population in the hill state has shown a remarkable increase in the latest census.
According to chief wildlife warden of Uttarakhand, S.S. Sharma, the tiger population has grown from 178 in 2008 to 235 in 2012.
“The increase in tiger population shows that our tiger conservation programme has had the desired impact. We will now carry out these programmes on a war footing and turn Uttarakhand into a haven for the big cat,” said Mr Sharma while talking to this correspondent on phone.
State forest officials are now adopting the “Corbett Tiger landscape approach” which includes protection of landscape, a special tiger protection force, anti-poaching squads and strengthening the patrolling in the forest areas.