Maharashtra: Tigress Avni's offspring retrieved post injuries in forest fight

Nagpur, Mar 08: An offspring of tigress Avni, which had been put down earlier after killing several people, had to be retrieved from the jungle following injuries in an internecine fight on Monday, having been released in the wild on Friday, forest officials from Pench Tiger Reserve said.

The tigress, now two-and-half years old and officially called PTRF 84, was released from the Titralmangi enclosure into the wild but had to be rescued from the jungle in the afternoon as she got injured in a fight, Ravikiran Govekar, Chief Conservator of Forest and Field Director of Pench Tiger Reserve, said in a statement.

The fight with another tigress took place in the morning, and a veterinary examination revealed that the injuries would be an obstacle to her living in the wild, it said.

The statement added that such interactions are expected in the wild and the retrieval mechanism was already provided in the original plan submitted to the NTCA. The tigress' health is being monitored currently, it said.

The tigress was brought to Pench reserve as a cub on the night of December 22, 2018 from Pandharkawada division. Her mother Avni was shot dead on November 2 that year in Borati area of Yavatmal following an official order as she had killed 13 people.