Sawai Madhopur (Rajasthan): Tigress T-19 living in the Ranthambore National Park has breathed her last. According to Forest Department officials, the tigress also known as Krishna was about 16 years old and was unable to hunt for the last few days due to her age. They further revealed that due to this the big cat had become very weak. Her body was found on Wednesday.
Speaking to reporters, CCF Seduram Yadav said that the average age of a tiger is about 15 years, whereas Krishna was already 16 years old at the time of her death. " She was not able to hunt due to old age as a result of which she had become very weak. We have been constantly monitoring her," he added.
According to Forest Officials, Krishna, the daughter of the famous tigress Machali alias “Lady of the Lake,” had confined her movement to the Lakdada forest area of the National Park due to weakness and old age.
Upon receiving information about its death Forest Department officials reached the spot and sent its body to the Rajbag Naka post following the post-mortem was done and the tigress was cremated. Several Forest Department officials including CCF Seduram Yadav, ACF Manas Singh, SDM Kapil Sharma, and COCT Rajveer Singh were present during the event.
Forest Department officials said that like her mother Machali, Krishna also made significant contributions to increasing the tiger population in the Ranthambore National Park.
"Amongst the 62 tigers of Ranthambore, what made Machli so special was her comfort level with the humans, and how she held lensmen (and women) in awe of her grace. She was smart too. At times, she used to take the advantage of the tourist’s vehicles to stalk and hunt. Her genes have spread far and wide across the area; two of her female cubs were transferred to Sariska Tiger Reserve to repopulate it with big cats. Accolades like lifetime awards have lifted her name to a greater extent," stated a release posted on the official website of the Ranthambore National Park.
