This story is from March 23, 2019

Bhopal: Clicked! Tiger eating tiger in Kanha

Bhopal: Clicked! Tiger eating tiger in Kanha
A tiger chews on the carcass of another in Kanha.
Key Highlights
  • The rangers had only heard of cannibalism by tigers, never seen it
  • Though officials accept that tigers are killing each other over territorial supremacy, they are shying away from commenting on cannibalism
BHOPAL: Kanha rangers were watching over a rotting tiger carcass on Friday when a tiger came along. What they saw next left them stunned — the tiger started feeding off the carcass.
The rangers had only heard of cannibalism by tigers, never seen it. And thanks to their cameras, now so can you.
Forest officials told TOI it was tiger T56 that killed T36 in Magarnala beat of Kanha’s Kisli Range.
“The tiger that was killed was two years older. It’s a clear case of territorial fight. This tiger was guarding its kill and we are observing its behaviour,” said Kanha Tiger Reserve (KTR) field director L Krishnamurthy. The tiger is still sitting over its ‘kill’, and foresters haven’t been able to recover the carcass.
It is the fifth instance of tiger cannibalism recorded in Kanha in the last three months, raising concern among environmentalists, especially for the younger ones. Of the five tigers that KTR has lost in 2019, three were sub-adults. Kanha is a home to more than 100 tigers, including 83 adults.
‘Taking steps to reduce incidents of cannibalism’
Asked if insufficient prey base was triggering cannibalism, Krishnamurthy said there is enough for the big cats in Kanha. Though officials accept that tigers are killing each other over territorial supremacy, they are shying away from commenting on cannibalism. A tiger had killed and eaten two sub-adults on March 16, and the same animal was believed to have hunted and eaten a tigress on January 19 this year, prompting Madhya Pradesh wildlife department to initiate a study on cannibalism among tigers in protected areas.
Officials say it’s natural for tigers to be killed in territorial fights, but a tiger killing and eating only tigers is something very strange and extremely rare — that too when the forest has no shortage of prey. “We have to take certain measures to reduce incidents of cannibalism among tigers,” said APCCF (wildlife) Dilip Kumar. Asked if T56 was involved in any of the earlier cannibalism incidents this year, officials refused to comment.
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