Somewhere in Chhatisgarh....

India lost another tiger, this time to poachers in Chhattisgarh who killed a six-year-old tigress and then pulled out her claws, whiskers and two canines, prized commodities in the international market. While the body of the tigress was found in Chhattisgarh’s Bhoramdeo sanctuary late Tuesday night, a post-mortem established she had been killed four days ago. “There is an entry wound on one side, but no exit wound. It could either be a bullet injury or one made by a sharp weapon,” said Ram Prakash, the state’s chief wildlife warden who travelled to the spot, 200km away from the state capital. Meetu Gupta of the NGO Wildlife SOS, who also visited the site, was convinced that the fracture of the ribs indicated it was a bullet injury. Located in Kawardha district, Bhoramdeo sanctuary is part of a wildlife corridor connecting the famous Kanha national park in MP with the newly-formed Achanakmaar tiger reserve in Chhattisgarh. Forest officials said the tigress was first spotted in Bhoramdeo four months ago. “There were three cattle kills during this period. Our patrolling party was keeping a watch on her movements,” said Ram Prakash. But it remained unclear why a specially-formed patrolling unit of forest officials failed to detect poachers, or even the tiger killing for four days.