A postmortem conducted on a tiger, found dead in a well at Nelliampathy on Monday, revealed that the big cat had suffered a mortal injury to its ribs during the fall.
The severe injury it suffered on the ribs had caused internal bleeding, which ultimately led to its death in the well.
There were also wounds in the tiger’s mouth apparently caused by porcupine spines. It was suspected that the seven-year-old, full-grown tiger fell into the well while chasing a prey. The carcass of the female tiger was three days old. It weighed nearly 250 kg.
The postmortem examination was conducted as per the procedures suggested by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA). The internal organs were collected and sent to the Regional Chemical Examiners Laboratory at Kakkanad for a detailed examination.
Kerala Natural History Society secretary and NTCA nominee L. Namashivayam, Head of the Department of Zoology at Government Victoria College, Palakkad, and Chief Wildlife Warden’s nominee Sreeranjit Kumar, Assistant Forest Veterinary Officer David Abraham, veterinarian Arun T.R., and Nenmara Divisional Forest Officer Aneesh C.P., constituted the expert panel that supervised the procedures.
The carcass was buried at Surya Para Estate at Nelliamapathy on Tuesday.
A snake was also found dead in the well. Nenmara DFO Aneesh C.P. said that it was a rat snake and they could not connect the deaths of the two animals.
