Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday expressed serious concern over the recent deaths of tigers in the Dudhwa Tiger Reserve and ordered a probe. Four tigers, including a six-year-old male tiger, who was found dead in the Mailani range of Kishanpur sanctuary of DTR on Friday, have died since April 21 due to different reasons as stated by Dudhwa authorities. Taking cognisance of the casualties, Adityanath has directed the state forest minister, additional chief secretary, forest and other senior forest officials to visit Dudhwa National Park and carry out a thorough probe, a senior official said.


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The UP chief minister has also sought a detailed report of the reasons behind the big cats' recent deaths, the official said. Four tigers have died in Kheri since April 21 when a two-year-old male tiger died in the Dudhwa buffer zone. Officials said the young tiger might have eaten up some sharp bone leading to internal injuries causing stomach rupture, resulting in its death. On May 31, a four-year-old male tiger died in the north Nighasan range of the Dudhwa buffer zone. Officials said its death was caused by a puncture wound in its trachea due to infighting.


On June 3, a two-year-old tigress died in a village in the Dudhwa buffer zone right under the eyes of forest officials and villagers. The tigress was reported to have its canines and paws damaged. On Friday, the carcass of a six to seven-year-old male tiger was recovered from a pond in the Mailani range of Kishanpur sanctuary. Officials said circumstances indicated death from infighting. Field director, DTR B. Prabhakar said the carcass has been sent to IVRI in Bareilly to ascertain the exact cause of death.