Guwahati, Aug 26: Following the tragic death of a four-year-old male Royal Bengal Tiger, which had been caged at Dhing in Nagaon district, an environmental activist took prompt action by writing to Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma seeking stringent action against two Divisional Forest Officers (DFOs) who were responsible for the death of the animal.
The death of the tiger, a species classified as endangered, has raised significant concerns about the handling and care of wildlife by the state’s forest officials.
“The DFO of Nagaon Territorial Division, Kadam Suhas and the DFO of Assam State Zoo and Botanical Garden, Ashwini Kumar were solely responsible for the death of the tuiger,” Dilip Nath, an environment activist from Dhekiajuli and who was a part of the rescue team, said in a letter to the Chief Minister on Sunday.
The tiger died on August 24 while being transported from Dhing to the Assam State Zoo cum Botanical Garden in Guwahati. The animal had strayed from the Laokhowa-Burachapori Wildlife Sanctuary and had been wandering at Athgaon in Dhing area for about two months, likely due to recent floods that disrupted its natural habitat.
The tiger was tranquilised and caged by a team of forest officials with the help of villagers on the night of August 23.
The net was brought from Sundarban and a drone was also hired from Shillong to capture the tiger.
“The tragic death was compounded by mistake during the administration of the second dose of a tranquillizer. The second dose was administered by the Nagao DFO instead of a veterinary doctor from the state zoo,” Nath said.
This mishandling is believed to have contributed to the tiger’s demise, raising serious concerns about the procedures followed by the forest officials involved.
“Following the tranquilization, the situation deteriorated when the tiger’s body temperature increased—a known risk associated with tranquilization. However, appropriate measures, such as cooling the tiger with water, were not taken to manage this critical condition. Instead of stabilizing the tiger on-site, it was caged and transported to Guwahati,” Nath alleged.
Nath also alleged that the situation further worsened when the tiger was placed in a box instead of a proper cage. This decision, coupled with the fact that no cooling measures were taken to manage the tiger’s elevated body temperature, likely contributed to the animal’s distress and eventual death.
“Transporting the tiger in a confined box, rather than a well-ventilated cage, would have significantly restricted air circulation, further exacerbating the tiger’s condition. This handling error is a serious lapse in protocol, indicating a lack of preparedness and understanding of the proper care required during such operations,” Nath further said.
Nath claimed that the people of Athgaon village had fully supported the forest team in caging the tiger.
“I demand a thorough probe into the causes and circumstances of the death of the tiger and punish the guilty officers,” Nath said.
“I also demand for a postmortem of the carcass of the tiger outside the state for genuine probe. The people of Athgaoan village will also not accept the PM report conducted in AAU Guwahati,” he added
