COIMBATORE: A male tiger with injuries to its legs was found dead in a private tea estate in the Nilgiris on Monday.
The tiger was spotted in a tea estate near Manjoor over the last two days, triggering panic among residents.
A team of forest department staff kept a close watch on the animal using artificial intelligence-enabled thermal drone cameras to prevent it from straying into residential areas.
As the animal remained weak and immobile, the forest department planned to tranquillise and shift the tiger to Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR).
On Monday morning, the staff noticed the tiger lying without any movement for a long time and on suspicion, they went closer and confirmed the animal to be dead.
A preliminary examination revealed that the tiger had sustained severe injuries to its forelegs. It was unable to walk due to a fracture in its legs and injuries near its eyes.
Divisional Forest Officer (Nilgiris), S Gowtham, said that the tiger, aged around eight years, was injured in a fight with another carnivore.
"The tiger died despite continuous monitoring for the past two days. As per the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) guidelines, tigers injured in territorial fights are not captured for medical treatment as such incidents are considered natural," he said.
A post-mortem was conducted by the MTR veterinarian, K Rajesh Kumar. Samples collected during the post-mortem will be sent for laboratory analysis to ascertain the reason for the animal's death.