Over 25 kg of tiger flesh has been found from the periphery of the Dudhwa Tiger Reserve. At least three tiger killings have taken place in Dudhwa and the surrounding Katarniaghat Tiger Reserve in the last year.

“The tiger flesh discovered three days ago is in a highly rotten state. A few patches of skin have also been found which proves that it is tiger flesh, but the claws and bones have been removed,’’ Mohammed Ehsaan, the Chief Wildlife Warden of Uttar Pradesh, told The Indian Express from Lucknow.

Dudhwa Tiger Reserve has two core areas, Dudhwa National Park and Kishanpur Wildlife Sanctuary. These are 15 km apart, with agricultural land in between. The flesh was found on the periphery of Kishanpur Wildlife Sanctuary, that falls in Lakhimpur Kheri and Shahjanabad. “The carcass is possibly 15 days old. We have sent it for forensic examination; investigations are underway,” Ehsaan said. Samples have been sent to the Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Bareilly and Wildlife Institute of India, Dehra Dun for examination.

“Dhudhwa is very vulnerable as it borders Nepal on one side. The field and enforcement staff there have to be extremely vigilant as it is very difficult to protect tigers there because of the porous border,’’ said Belinda Wright of the Wildlife Protection Society of India, an NGO in Delhi. Tito Joseph of the Wildlife Protection Society of India said most tigers are poisoned using some common pesticide. “The tiger normally eats some of it’s prey and leaves the rest behind. But it does tend to come back the next day to eat it up. Within this period, the carcass is normally poisoned by the poachers,’’ he added.