Amaravati : Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister and Minister for Environment and Forests, Pawan Kalyan, on Saturday ordered a probe into the death of a tiger at the Nagarjunasagar-Srisailam Tiger Reserve.
He said the incident of a tiger's death in the Racharla Beat of the Giddaluru Division within the Nagarjunasagar-Srisailam Tiger Reserve (NSTR) came to his attention. He posted on ‘X’ that for nature's balance to remain undisturbed, the conservation of tigers is of utmost importance.
“The loss of even a single tiger's life is a matter of grave concern. This incident serves as yet another reminder of our responsibility to protect our forests and wildlife,” he said.
Pawan Kalyan said he had directed the NSTR Field Director to conduct a comprehensive and transparent investigation to uncover the reasons behind this death.
“Was it a natural death? Or was there any human intervention, such as poaching, poisoning, or other mischief? A thorough enquiry must be carried out from these angles. A post-mortem and forensic tests should be conducted in accordance with wildlife conservation regulations to determine the actual cause of death,” he said.
To prevent such incidents from recurring in the future, he instructed forest department officials to immediately increase patrolling in forest areas and strengthen field-level vigilance. “Protecting Andhra Pradesh's forest wealth and the biodiversity here is the duty of all of us. The coalition government is committed to forest conservation and wildlife protection. If any negligence is found in this incident, the strictest legal action will be taken,” he said.
A nine-year-old tigress was found dead in the Nallamala forest on Wednesday.
Forest staff discovered the carcass on Wednesday during routine foot patrolling near Isuka Madugu Rastha on the border of the Atmakur and Nagaluti forest ranges in the Nagarjunasagar-Srisailam Tiger Reserve.
As per the National Tiger Conservation Authority’s Standard Operating Procedure, an authorised veterinary team conducted a postmortem examination on Thursday.
Officials said the carcass bore no external injuries or signs of foul play.
--IANS
