Axe effect for tigers autopsy

COIMBATORE: Forest Department staff here had controversially axed the carcass of an aged and starving male tiger, while conducting its autopsy in mid-December 2011. The wild cat had died under dubious circumstances near the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR). Wildlife enthusiasts and veterinarians are outraged not just by the crude axeing, but also over an attempt to cover up the circumstances under which the tiger had collapsed.Photos provided by exclusive sources to Express showed a Forest Department staffer axeing the carcass and the subsequent autopsy performed in the presence of senior officials.On December 17, 2011, senior officials had, while making public the tiger’s death, suppressed the fact that it was tranquilized. They had claimed that it had died due to age and starvation.Locals at Bokkapuram village near the MTR had spotted an aged and injured tiger in frail health and informed forest officials. “They arrived late. By then the tiger was... weak due to starvation and harmless. Within minutes of the animal being administered a tranquilizer shot, the tiger... died,” an activist said.