Another tiger death reported in A.P.’s Nagarjunasagar Srisailam Tiger Reserve; official suspended

Even as the probe into the recent death of two tigers in Nagarjunasagar Srisailam Tiger Reserve (NSTR) of Andhra Pradesh is on, the death of a tigress in the reserve came to light on Tuesday. Though the tigress died in September 2025, the field staff did not inform the higher officials about it and disposed of the carcass, senior officials said.

An Undetected Offence Report (UDOR) has been registered against those who placed the snare in which the tigress was caught and died, while disciplinary action has been initiated against the forest staff who disposed of the carcass without following the procedures and informing superiors.

Deputy Director Project Tiger, Atmakur, Vignesh Appavu told The Hindu that they had received credible information about the death of a tigress after it was caught in a snare in September 2025 and that the carcass was burnt without following the due procedure.

“A probe by a special team revealed that the tigress was found dead after being caught in a snare at Thottimittalu area near Kothacheruvu in Indireswaram West Beat of Nagaluty Range within the Project Tiger Division, Atmakur,” a release said.

The forest officials conducted a field inspection. “The location was identified and the circumstances surrounding the death of the tigeress were verified,” he said.

As the incident had occurred earlier, no complete carcass or identifiable remains could be recovered during the inspection, but suspected bone fragments and soil containing suspected remains were collected from the site and sent for examination, he said, adding that further investigation is in progress.

Forest Section Officer Basha, who was the first to notice the carcass, was suspended while the outsourced protection watchers were disengaged from work, Mr. Vignesh said.

Meanwhile, forest officials on Sunday arrested three persons who were in possession of six ‘suspected’ tiger claws. The ‘suspected’ claws, which were found in a blue plastic cover concealed in the petrol tank of a two-wheeler, have been seized, Mr Vignesh said.

Asked if the claws were of the tigress that died in September 2025, Mr. Vignesh said, “We can not say for now. The tiger claws have been sent to CCMB in Hyderabad for examination,” he said.