Radio-collared tigress poisoned and buried near Satpura Tiger Reserve, five arrested

A radio-collared tigress linked to the Satpura Tiger Reserve landscape was allegedly poisoned with bait and buried in Madhya Pradesh’s Chhindwara district, with five villagers arrested in connection with the wildlife crime, officials said.

Forest teams recovered the decomposed carcass from a pit in the West Chhindwara forest division on Friday after tracking the animal’s last known radio-collar location. The discovery followed a search operation triggered when the collar signals became stationary for several days.

Officials said the tigress had been translocated from Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve and had established its territory outside the protected reserve area in a human-dominated forest fringe, where interactions between wildlife and local communities are increasingly common.

According to investigators, the prime accused allegedly mixed poison in the carcass of livestock killed by the tigress so that the animal would return to feed on it. The tigress died after consuming the contaminated meat, and the accused later buried the body and reportedly burnt the radio-collar in an attempt to destroy evidence.

During questioning, the accused told officials that the killing was carried out in retaliation after the big cat attacked cattle. However, investigators are also probing another possible motive. Sources indicated that the main accused was allegedly engaged in illegal opium cultivation in the forest area and may have feared that forest officials tracking the tiger’s collar signals could discover the illegal activity.

Forest department officials said a case has been registered under provisions of the Wildlife Protection Act , and the arrested individuals were produced before a court and remanded to judicial custody. A post-mortem examination confirmed death due to poisoning , they added.

Wildlife activist Ajay Dubey filed a complaint with the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and the National Tiger Conservation Authority , alleging monitoring lapses. He said the collar showed no movement since March 3 but officials failed to act.

Calling it a “glaring administrative failure,” Dubey sought action against officials. The incident has raised fresh concerns in Madhya Pradesh , where activists say at least 14 tigers have died since January.