An adult tigress was reported dead at the Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve (BTR) in Madhya Pradesh, officials said on Monday.

A four to five-year-old tigress was found unconscious in the Manpur buffer zone, following which a forest team brought wildlife veterinarians for her treatment. However, she could not survive.

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A wildlife expert associated with Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve (BTR) told IANS that the tigress was injured during mating with male tiger a couple of weeks back. During the mating process, she received severe injuries on the neck.

Due to the rainy season, the wound worsened and became rotten. The official, however, claimed that had the injuries been treated soon, the tigress could have survived. “But, it was too late as her neck was badly rotten in the past two weeks. Her behaviour had also changed after the mating process,” an official said on condition of anonymity.

Spread in a large area — from Umaria district to Shahdol and some of it’s part in Katni district of Madhya Pradesh, the Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve (BTR) accommodates more than 150 tigers apart from other wild animals, including wild elephants.

“There is a lack of intense monitoring of tigers and no heed is paid on this issue. These issues need to be set right,” said the wildlife expert.