Tiger found dead at Corbett Reserve in Uttarakhand

Nainital, July 13 (IANS) A tiger was found dead in the Jim Corbett Tiger Reserve in Ramnagar, an official said on Wednesday.

The adult tiger was spotted by forest officials on duty in the Jhirna range on Tuesday evening, the official said.

After an autopsy was conducted, the cause of death was inferred to be a snake bite.

"Bite marks of a snake have been found on the body," a forest official told IANS.

A team of senior forest officials including the rangers were probing the matter.

There were no signs of any conflict or wounds on the body of the tiger, the official said, adding that it was however, bleeding from the mouth.

"Post-mortem examination has revealed that the tiger had remnants of deer meet in its intestines and had snake bite marks near the mouth," the official added.

While inexperienced tiger cubs are curious about snakes and may move in close to examine a serpent, adult tigers are generally wary, experts say.

A sample of the dead tiger’s lungs and liver were being sent for forensic investigations, he said.