The killing of tigress Avni and the controversy that sparked after it seems to have opened a can of worms for Maharashtra government as people are protesting and asking why the cubs of the tigress have not been rescued even after a month of her killing, the probe initiated by Centre run National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) have taken all the claims made by the state forest department to the cleaners.
NTCA has found inaccuracies in the ¡®self-defence¡¯ theory propagated by the state government. After her killing, Maharashtra Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) A K Misra had claimed that the tigress was shot dead in self-defence. He had said that a team along with Asghar was tracking the big cat. ¡°Forester Mukhbir Sheikh managed to shoot a tranquiliser dart at her. But she got furious and charged at the team, forcing Asghar to shoot in self-defence from a distance of about 8 to 10 metres,¡± had claimed Mishra.
But the Union Ministry for Environment and Forest (MoEF) said the committee established under the NTCA found a series of loopholes in the claims made the state government and also claimed the ¡®self-defence¡¯ theory was weaved to obscure the issue.
After killing of the tigress, a war of words had broken out between Maharashtra forest officer Sudhir Mungantiwat and Union Minister Maneka Gandhi which led to the formation of two separate committees- one under NTCA and one under the state government.
The inaccuracies start with dart itself which the state government claims to have tried to tranquillize the tigress. But the source from the MoEF and state forest department told? News18? that the dart was prepared three days before the incident. Not only it¡¯s against the norms prescribed by the NTCA, preparing dart days ago makes it ineffective when it comes to putting the animal unconscious. The expert veterinarians from the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) in Maharashtra and the Kaziranga National Park claim that NTCA protocol says the dart must be prepared fresh.?
Photo: Facebook/Let Avni Live
A vet from SGNP explained, "It isn't just a matter of SGNP. The substance used to tranquilise a big cat is a mixture and its efficacy decreases with time. So you freshly prepare the dart only when you know you're about to try and tranquilise the animal.¡±
Avni¡¯s post-mortem report also revealed that the ¡°fascia (connective tissue under the skin) beneath darted needle was intact¡±. The experts also say the anaesthesia require up to 30? minutes before the subject render goes unconscious and they also advise the tigress should ideally not be darted at night because after being darted, a tiger can flee rapidly making the tracking job difficult. But surprisingly, Avni was darted at 10 pm.