Unusual Encounter: Porcupine kills adult male Tiger in Tamil Nadu
porcupine quills discovered within its body, suggesting that it had engaged in a fight with and possibly consumed the porcupine. Tragically, the tiger had gone without food for a minimum of three days prior to its death. Samples have been sent for further testing.
The carcass of the male tiger was discovered at Kazhudhakatti stream within the Amaravathi forest range, situated in the Tirupur forest division.
A postmortem of the tiger was promptly conducted at the site on Tuesday, in accordance with the National Tiger Conservation Authority's established protocols.
Dr. E Vijayaragavan, assistant veterinary surgeon, along with Dr. T Rajan, government assistant veterinary surgeon in Kallapuram, and Dr.
S Raja Sokappan, government assistant veterinary surgeon in Kurichikottai, carried out the postmortem procedure. Their preliminary examination confirmed the tiger's age to be approximately nine years. The tiger's fatal altercation with a porcupine resulted in injuries to its front legs and knees, and it is suspected that the tiger had ingested the porcupine, evident from the presence of porcupine quills within its body.
The veterinary team further noted that the wounded tiger had been unable to hunt or consume food, leading to a harrowing period of starvation lasting at least three days, as evidenced by the empty state of its intestine.
