Panna’s ‘Queen’ found dead in suspicious conditions
| Date :29-Jun-2020 |
A file pic of tigress ‘Rani’ at Panna Tiger Reserve.
Staff Reporter :
MOST popular tigress of Panna Tiger Reserve (PTR) ‘Rani’ was found dead in suspicious conditions on Sunday morning. Carcass of the 10-year-old feline was spotted by a trekking team in Talgaon circle of Panna core. The tigress was radio collared and in previous medical check-ups, she was found fit. The post-mortem report is yet to be released. Officials of tiger reserve and veterinary doctors reached the spot during morning hours to collect sample for laboratory testing.
P-213 was popular among tourists and she has never attacked any human. About three days back, her photograph was clicked by a visitor while sleeping at Talgaon rest house and the photograph became viral. The photograph received many likes on social media. PTR Field Director S K Bhadauria said, “The reason behind death of the tigress is yet to be ascertained as there are no scratches of any injury on the body. The tigress was healthy and also radio collared. P-213 was very generous tigress and was always sighted easily by the visitors. We use to call her Panna queen.”
He further informed that the tigress is first litter of T-2 who was brought to PTR from Kanha Tiger Reserve under tiger rehabilitation plan. After shifting the tigress T-2 from Kanha, she gave birth to T-213 in October 2010. Sources said, pulse rate of the tigress was high since last night. Trekking team was aware of the issue and when they searched for the tigress during morning hours, she was found dead at Mahua beat of Talgaon circle.