The carcasses of a tiger and its cub were found in a field in Gundlupet taluk of Chamarajanagar district in Karnataka in a partially decomposed condition.
The carcasses were found in Meluru village bordering Terkanambhi on December 7.
The place where the carcasses were found is about 21 km from Biligiriranganathaswamy temple tiger reserve. The cause of death of the two tigers is yet to be ascertained.
There is talk in conservation circles that the two tigers may have been poisoned as their carcasses were found in the same place. In case the deaths were due to injuries sustained in a territorial fight, the probability of the cub too dying at the same place is low, said the sources.
While the traditional sampling methods can detect traces of poison for 72 hours, it does not yield any result in case of carcasses that are more than 72 hours old. In this case, it is likely that the carcasses are about 48 to 72 hours old. Hence, sources suggested that advanced Elisa kit be procured through import, as they can detect poison even if the carcasses are a week old.
Samples from the viscera need to be frozen and stored till the kits are imported.
Imported kits were first used to crack the death of four tigers, which were poisoned in Goa in January 2020.
The suggestion to import kits is pertinent as even if the Forest Department nails down the culprits, they cannot prove their involvement in a court of law in the absence of scientific or clinching evidence, the sources added.
