Keri: A highly-decomposed carcass of a tiger was found inside a private forest in Sacorda, a few metres from Bhagwan Mahavir Wildlife Sanctuary, on Saturday. A nature enthusiast who was in the area for routine research found it and alerted the forest department.The area where the carcass was found falls under the Collem forest range. Deputy conservator of forests, North Goa division, Jiss Varkey, along with the forest staff of Collem range, then visited the site. Forest officials found the totally-decomposed carcass with a few bones, skin, and other parts scattered in three places. The department said that preliminary observations reveal that the tiger might have been dead for more than a fortnight.Varkey told TOI that the department has informed the National Tiger Conservation Authority about the death. “We will follow the guidelines of the NTCA, Bengaluru, to investigate the death of the tiger,” he said.A panchnama was carried out in the presence of a veterinary doctor, and it is suspected that the dead tiger was attacked by scavengers. However, Varkey said that the cause of death would only be known after the forensic report is received.Official data states that between 2009 and now, six tiger deaths have been reported in Goa.Sacorda villagers said over the past month, they “had felt the presence of a tiger in the area”.The all-India tiger estimation (AITE) is underway in Goa as part of the nationwide three-phase survey to estimate tiger populations and habitats.Currently, the Supreme Court is reviewing the central empowered committee’s (CEC) recommendation of creating a 468.6sqkm tiger reserve in the state, even as Goa has opposed the proposal citing the risk of potential relocation of nearly one lakh residents. It has argued before the Supreme Court that tigers are transient and not residents of the state.
