Bhopal: A case of poaching in Madhya Pradesh's Satpura Tiger Reserve has spiralled into a controversy after forest officials tried to pin the death of a radio-collared tigress on the Iran war and the continuing Middle East Conflict.
The tigress, relocated from Bandhavgarh in December 2024, was fitted with a radio collar to track her movements. Field Director Rakhi Nanda claimed the collar's signal was disrupted "possibly owing to the ongoing war," leading to a delay in locating the animal. But senior officials dismissed the explanation outright. "There is no reason to believe that the West Asia conflict could have disrupted the radio collar signal," said PCCF Shubharanjan Sen, as reported by The Tribune.
Investigations later revealed the tigress was poisoned after killing cattle. A local resident allegedly laced ox meat with pesticide, then buried the carcass with help from others to conceal the crime. The collar stopped transmitting on March 2, and the tigress's body was discovered on March 28 after villagers tipped off authorities.
Police have arrested five suspects, while forest officials are probing possible links to illegal opium cultivation near the burial site.
The bizarre attempt to shift blame onto global geopolitics has sparked outrage among conservationists, who say the case underscores both the vulnerability of India's big cats and the urgent need for accountability in wildlife protection.