THE carcass of a young tiger has been found in the Bhaisamuda forest area of Wadrafnagar in Surajpur district of State, triggering concern within the Forest Department. The body is believed to be three to four days old. Preliminary suspicion points towards electrocution as the cause of death, though this has not yet been officially con firmed. The discovery has caused a stir among forest officials, particularly as it comes amid a series of recent wildlife deaths in State. Just a day earlier, the carcasses of two leopards were recovered from different locations in Chhattisgarh. One leopard was found dead in Khairagarh, while the oth er carcass was recovered from Lohara.

 

The finding of a tiger carcass so soon after these incidents has intensified concerns about wildlife safety. For nearly a month, residents of the Wadrafnagar area had been reporting the presence of a tiger, creating an atmosphere of fear in nearby villages. Tiger paw prints were first noticed in the Raghunathpur area, followed by reports of attacks on domestic animals. Villagers in several parts of Surajpur district had raised repeated alerts about the tiger’s movement. Evidence of the tiger’s presence was reported from multiple villages in the Bhaiyathan block of Surajpur, including Barsara, Dharsedi, Basker and Kudhri.

 

However, villagers alleged that their complaints were dismissed by the Forest Department as rumors. Meanwhile, in Temri village of the neighboring Korea district, a tiger was later captured on camera traps installed by the department, confirming its movement in the region. The latest development has now validated fears expressed by locals, with the discovery of the tiger’s carcass in the Bhaisamuda forest area. Forest sources indicated that the tiger appeared to be young, though further details regarding its age, gender and health condition are awaited.

 

Despite repeated attempts, no official statement had been issued by Forest Department authorities till the filing of this report. Officials are expected to conduct a post-mortem examination to ascertain the exact cause of death and determine whether electrocution or any other factor was responsible. The incident has once again raised serious questions about wildlife protection, monitoring mechanisms and response to local warnings in forest fringe areas of northern Chhattisgarh. The officers in-charge of wildlife has been preoccupied with the State Budget, meanwhile, the wild animals are getting poached in the forest of Chhattisgarh.